Senate Republicans are scrambling to get out of the blast zone from Donald Trump's upcoming January 6th speech later this week, but there's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
Senate Republicans are cringing at former President Donald Trump's plans to speak on Jan. 6, openly fretting he's trying to pull their party back into debating his false election claims.
“I don't think that's a good idea,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). “I guess it depends on what he's going to say. But early assumptions are that it's going to be an aggressive statement. I just don't think it's a good idea.”
Then there's Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who wants to “stay focused on congressional activities." And Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who voted to convict Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 attack, said the event isn’t a “terribly good idea,” but added, "What am I going to do about it?”
And those were the members who decided to even talk about it. While Trump plans to defend the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol nearly a year ago at a press conference Thursday, Senate Republicans largely prefer to ignore him, still seeing scant purpose in provoking a prickly Trump, even a year after he's left office. In interviews Tuesday, several declined to comment and instead said their attention is on moving forward.
Senate Republicans' opting not to discuss Trump’s latest grievances highlights the ongoing tension within the GOP over how much attention to give to the former president, especially as he continues to falsely state that the 2020 election was stolen. While many Senate Republicans condemned Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack — when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol — he still holds substantial sway over the party, particularly in GOP primaries.
“It’s a free country and you’re entitled to say whatever you want to say subject to some limitations, but I think the country has moved on,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.). “I think that’s where we ought to focus our efforts, is on getting things done for the American people and not re-litigating issues that have already been decided.”
In addition to talking about the 2020 election, Trump is also expected to decry the House select committee’s investigation into Jan. 6. Thursday’s press conference is widely viewed as Trump's effort to counter-program a series of events Democrats are holding to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the attack.
Most Senate Republicans voted to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial centered on his role in the Capitol attack and most also voted to block a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission from being established. House Democrats instead set up a select committee to probe the circumstances around the attack.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are both scheduled to deliver remarks at the U.S. Capitol that day. Meanwhile, many Senate Republicans are expected to be out of town for Georgia GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson’s funeral.
Few Senate Republicans see an upside in talking about Trump, the 2020 election and his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
“There's no benefit on commenting,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “So I'm not going to comment.”
What courageous heroes we have here, right? "What am I going to do" and "It's a free country" and "So I'm not going to comment."
Wait until these jackasses have to deal with Trump's actual words.
I know, I know, our broken media won't actually ask Senate Republicans about Trump's near-guaranteed disaster diatribe, but it doesn't mean that asking them if they support his insurrectionist lies might be important to maintain what little of the republic we have left.
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