'This Had Been Brewing': Sen. Klobuchar Blames Trump For Inciting Violence At The Capitol
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar says President Donald Trump is to blame for the violence that erupted at the Capitol Wednesday, when a group of his supporters stormed the building, creating a deadly chaos as lawmakers had gathered to certify the Electoral College vote.
"He has incited this specific riot. He literally asked people to march down the mall to the Capitol," the Democratic senator said on WCCO This Morning.
She added: "What happened yesterday, I just want all Minnesotans to know it was an act of vandalism, it was an act of violence, insurrection. This had been brewing, I had been talking about our need to respect our elections...sometimes referring to what the president wanted as a coup, and sure enough, that's what these people were literally doing when they marched into the Capitol."
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Four people died in the mayhem. One woman was fatally shot by police. Three others died in what were described as medical emergencies.
The Capitol went into lockdown Wednesday afternoon as security was quickly overwhelmed when pro-Trump rioters descended on the building, clashing with police before making their way inside, where some rummaged through offices while others ran onto the Senate floor.
Before the march on the Capitol, the president spoke to his supporters, repeating again unfounded claims that the election was stolen from him. Trump told the crowd that if they "don't fight like hell," they wouldn't have a country anymore. He said he'd go with them to the Capitol, but didn't.
When asked if Trump should be removed from office via the 25th Amendment, Klobuchar said that the decision falls on the president's Cabinet and Vice President Mike Pence.
"The way the rules work, over 50% of his Cabinet members would have to vote to do that, and the vice president would have to be part of that, and people would have to stop kowtowing to him," Klobuchar said.
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Three other Democratic members of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation have called for Trump to be removed from office. Reps. Betty McCollum and Angie Craig urged for the invoking of the 25th Amendment, and Rep. Ilhan Omar says she's drafting articles of impeachment. In Thursday's interview, Kochhar said she supported impeaching Trump more than a year ago.
The following the violence, many Republicans distanced themselves from Trump, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said that "enough is enough" when it came to challenging the election. Well after midnight, Congress did affirm Biden's victory, even after challenges were made with the support of two Minnesota Republicans, Reps. Jim Hagedorn and Michelle Fischbach.
For the first time Thursday morning, Trump acknowledged his loss and committed to an orderly transfer of power on Jan. 20.
On CBS This Morning, Klobuchar said that now is a tipping point for Republicans who've stood by Trump. "Last night, when they saw the fruits of everything they had done and all of the enabling, literally evading the temple of our democracy, desecrating it, right in front of their eyes, and that seems to have flipped a switch."
What will it lead to in the 13 days before Biden is inaugurated? "I don't know," Klobuchar said.
