Mitch McConnell Takes One Final Dig at President Trump, Saying He “Fed Lies” and “Provoked” the People Who Stormed the Capitol
Evan James
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Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave one final speech attacking President Donald Trump before the latter leaves office Wednesday. He repeated the false claim that Trump incited protesters to storm the Capitol building and said that Congress will “move forward” to continue addressing the serious challenges facing the United States.
A transcript of McConnell’s remarks is as follows:
“The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty. The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like. But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation. Not even for one night. We certified the people’s choice for their 46th president.
“Tomorrow, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn in. We’ll have a safe and successful inaugural right here on the west front of the Capitol, the space that President Bush 41 called ‘democracy’s front porch.’ And then we’ll move forward. Our work for the American people will continue as it has for more than 230 years. There are serious challenges that our nation needs to continue confronting. But there will also be great and hopeful opportunities for us to seize. Certainly November’s elections did not hand any side a mandate for sweeping ideological change. Americans elected a closely divided Senate, a closely divided House, and a presidential candidate who said he’d represent everyone. So our marching orders from the American people are clear. We’re to have a robust discussion and seek common ground. We are to pursue bipartisan agreement everywhere we can, and check and balance one another respectfully where we must. And through all of this, we must always keep in mind that we’re all Americans, we all love this country, and we’re all in this together.”
Only a couple hours before the Capitol incident McConnell rejected Trump’s claims of voter fraud and a stolen election and said he would “respect the people’s decision” to elect Joe Biden. Then it was reported the following week that McConnell privately expressed his pleasure at Trump’s second impeachment and praised it as an opportunity to purge him from the GOP.
Because of the 50-50 tie between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell are said to be working out a power-sharing agreement. Sources familiar with the details say that although Democrats will be in charge of setting the schedule, both parties will equally split the number of seats they hold on various committees.
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