GOP Senators Break With Trump Over ‘Offensive’ Tribute At Jan. 6 Texas Rally

WASHINGTON ― Former President donald trump‘s extraordinary tribute over the weekend to those convicted in the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol was a step too far for some Republican senators, including one of their main allies in Congress.

“I think the best thing for President Trump to do is to focus on the problems that people are facing today. There is no way to convince the American people that January 6th was anything less than a horrible day,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), who supports Trump’s 2024 campaign despite the former president’s role in inciting the attack on Congress, he told HuffPost on Monday.

Graham said that suggesting that the violent riots on January 6 involving hundreds of Trump supporters was “a walk in the park is offensive to me. It is not reality. It was one of the worst days in American history and it should be seen that way.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he did not believe that focusing on past events like the Jan. 6 attack was a “recipe for success” for any candidate seeking political office.

“I’ve never seen someone successfully elected to office because of something that happened in the past… I think people want a positive vision for the future,” Cornyn said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Rounds (RS.D.) expressed his dismay that footage of the January 6 insurrection was shown on giant screens as Trump appeared on stage.

“I was disappointed to see the way he used clips from that day. That was a bad day for this country,” Rounds told HuffPost. “What happened that day was the closest thing to an attempted insurrection that we’ve seen in a long time, and I don’t think any of us should be proud of that day.”

With one hand over his heart, Trump opened his rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday with a song called “Justice for All” that was recorded by a “chorus” of people imprisoned for their role in the insurrection at the United States Capitol. The recording is being used to raise funds to support the families of Trump supporters jailed on violence-related charges on January 6, 2021. On the track, Trump is shown reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

The fact that the event, Trump’s first official rally since announcing his run for the White House, was held some 17 miles from the site of the federal government’s siege in 1993 of the Branch Davidian arms-hoarding religious sect that left dozens dead, sent an unequivocal message. message to far-right extremists, the experts said.

It also came a day after Trump. raised the specter of violence Should he become the first former president in US history to face criminal charges over secret payments made before his 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed they had an affair 10 years earlier? ?

Most Republican senators have been willing to break with Trump over his support for the Jan. 6 convicts as their lives and the lives of their staff were in jeopardy during a harrowing assault they personally experienced. But few are willing to publicly rule out supporting Trump in the future because of it.

“I don’t blame him for people who take the law into their own hands,” Graham said Monday when asked if Trump’s support for the Jan. 6 convicts would affect his support for the former president. “People were going to blow up (the Democratic National Committee) headquarters before he even spoke. The point is that I will not be part of any effort to normalize on January 6.”

Asked twice if he would support Trump if he won the Republican nomination, Rounds said only that he is “looking for other very qualified people who I think would do a great job as president of the United States.”

But another Trump ally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), suggested that Trump is using the Jan. 6 attack on Congress to galvanize his voter base in what is expected to be a crowded Republican primary. .

“Most politicians will use everything they can to gain an advantage,” Tuberville said. “I think as he speaks he is trying to get everyone excited at the start of his campaign. Hey, it’s all about motivation and cheering people up for a common cause.”

“Now, is he right or not? I don’t know,” Tuberville added. “Voters have to answer that.”