Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said Thursday on MSNBC during a break of the Senate impeachment trial that the deadly Capitol riots happened in part because Republican senators did not convict Donald Trump during the first impeachment.
Coons said, “I think it is important that my Republican colleagues hear forceful statements from Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican member, folks who have been both former leaders like Speaker John Boehner, current leaders like Liz Cheney, current governors but frankly none of this should be necessary. The direct threat to vice president Mike Pence that we all witnessed and that we’re being reminded of and the forceful actions by Majority Leader McConnell and a half dozen other Republican senators insisting that this election was legitimately won by Joe Biden and then President Trump refusing to act or show any remorse. That should be enough.”
He added, “I’m struggling to understand how my colleagues can watch this evidence and not see the very real and present danger that Donald Trump poses to the future of our democracy if there is no accountability. I think part of why this happened is there was no accountability when we had him impeached and on trial a year before. He was allowed to behave in more and more unconventional, unprecedented, and dangerous ways. January 6 was the most dangerous nut. It is not the last time that he will incite his supporters to violence. We must act.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN