CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Tuesday during the network’s coverage of the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, that if the crowd had killed Vice President Mike Pence during the deadly riots on January 6, Republican senators would still be defending Trump.
Dana Bash said, “The discussion at the Constitutional Convention about how and why impeachment would be in the Constitution and said it actually came from the UK and from people who were tried and convicted after they left office. I thought that was fascinating. Again, hard to imagine even the Republicans who are looking for a political out with the constitutionality question, they have to think twice listening to that.”
Tapper said, “Maybe. I’m not sure they have to think twice about this, because honestly, I have to say, five people are dead directly from that day. There have been at least two or three suicides subsequent, two of them, of police officers.”
He continued, “I mean even Kevin McCarthy, who is one of the most sycophantic public officials, said Donald Trump bears some responsibility for that day. Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader, much more aggressive in his criticism. Even with that, with dead people, I have to wonder what if the crowd actually had gotten to Mike Pence? What if this had gotten even worse?”
He added, “Abby, we were talking about this earlier, five people killed that day, dozens more maimed with injuries, wounds they’re going to have forever, three fingers lost, an eye lost, brain damage. What if a member of Congress or Vice President Pence, God forbid, had been killed? I honestly don’t think that anything would be different on the floor of the Senate.”
Abby Phillip said, “Yeah, I tend to agree with you because when you listen to what Republicans are saying, none of them are actually grappling with what happened. Just a step before that, they’re saying, we should just give him a pass for this one thing.”
Tapper said, “A mulligan, Senator Mike Lee said a mulligan.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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