McConnell Criticizes Dems While Never Mentioning Trump During Jan 6th Comments [VIDEO]
Senate GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell marked the anniversary of the January 6th Capitol riot by criticizing his Democratic colleagues and making no mention of Donald Trump despite blaming him for the insurrection last year.
McConnell, who has mostly remained silent on the violence at the Capitol, issued a statement on Thursday morning that sidestepped Trump’s constant attacks on democracy and instead used the somber occasion to attack Democrats for attempting to change the filibuster rules and pass voting rights legislation. “It is…jaw-dropping to hear some Senate Democrats invoke the mob’s attempt to disrupt our country’s norms, rules, and institutions as a justification to discard our norms, rules, and institutions themselves,” McConnell said in his statement.
McConnell was instrumental in blocking the creation of a bipartisan Congressional commission to investigate the causes of the January 6th riot even after Republicans had gotten almost all of what they wanted in ensuring it would be a balanced effort. After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the nomination of Rep. Jim Jordan by House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy. McConnell’s decision to oppose that commission killed Congress’s best chance at an investigation that could have been taken seriously across the political spectrum. The House responded with a Select Committee of its own, where two Republicans have joined Democrats in the still-continuing investigation which will see public hearings beginning in a matter of weeks.
Leading Republicans want you to forget that a year ago they were outraged by 1/6.
We at the @MehdiHasanShow won't let them.
Please do watch and share our new video of 'then vs now,' featuring Pence, McConnell, McCarthy, Graham, and Cruz:pic.twitter.com/5DwMjzSejR
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 6, 2022
McConnell’s statements seem to be directed at Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats who brought up the legislation during their remarks marking the January 6th anniversary on Thursday. But Democrats are smartly tying voting rights legislation to the mob’s attack on the Electoral College vote and will continue to stress that the January 6th rally was the backup plan when Trump couldn’t convince Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the results that gave Joe Biden the win in the state.
“A year ago today, the Senate did not bend or break. We stuck together, stood strong, gaveled back in, and did our job. Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within,” McConnell said.
McConnell: "January 6th, 2021 was a dark day for Congress and our country. The United States Capitol, the seat of the first branch of our federal government, was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job." pic.twitter.com/bX5AABBwSk
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) January 6, 2022
Trump has spent the last year doubling down on his election lies while painting the 2020 election itself, not the January 6th riot, as the “real insurrection.” He is currently battling the Select Committee over the release of his White House documents relating to the insurrection.
Let's not set the bar so low as to be cleared by nice-sounding words. Romney is siding with McConnell and every single Senate Republican in filibustering the Freedom to Vote Act. If you're working to kill legislation that safeguards our democracy, I don't care about your speech. https://t.co/mAQeF7WyAq
— Ezra Levin (@ezralevin) January 6, 2022