Yahoo Finance Republican Congressman in wake of Capitol violence: Trump must accept election outcome
The number of sitting Republican members of Congress coming out against President Trump’s actions that incited an insurrection on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon continues to grow.
“Yesterday was an unprecedented day in modern history in the United States,” Congressman James French Hill (R-Ark.) told Yahoo Finance Live.
Hill said he was working in his office at the time of the uprising while also watching the presidential election certification process unfold in the Capitol.
“You could hear the tear gas canisters popping in the background and out of my office window I could see the large crowd assembling on the west front of the Capitol,” Hill said, adding he never “anticipated” the large angry mob would actually break into the Capitol.
Now Hill joins a yawning number of Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — asking Trump to dial his rhetoric way down, accept the election outcome and leave peacefully in two weeks when his term expires.
“He needs to recognize the reality that we are having a transition of power on noon on Jan. 20 and he needs to be a part of doing that in the great American tradition. That’s his responsibility,” said Hill.
Hill — a long-time Trump supporter that didn’t support the Sen. Ted Cruz political stunt to slow the election certification process — stopped short of calling for the impeachment of Trump.
Meanwhile, Democrats are doing more than voice strong contempt for Trump’s role in the uprising. They flat out want Trump removed from office immediately.
“The president of the United States incited an armed insurrection against America,” U.S. House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, according to The New York Times. Pelosi’s office was invaded and vandalized during the mayhem. The speaker is calling for the president to be removed from office immediately despite having 13 days left in his term.
“In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people,” Pelosi added.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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