Lindsey Graham Says Donald Trump Will ‘Get His Share Of Blame In History’ For Capitol Riots
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday that history will judge former President Donald Trump for his involvement in the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Per The Hill, speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Graham opined that Trump bears responsibility for what happened on January 6, but argued that he should not have been impeached.
“Well, I mean, he’s going to have a place in history for all of this, but the point of the matter is that we’re in Congress. We’re not prosecutors. Impeachment was never meant to be a prosecution,” Graham said.
“I think I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it’s blatantly unconstitutional,” he continued.
“As to Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican Party. He had a consequential presidency. Jan. 6 was a very bad day for America, and he’ll get his share of blame in history.”
The violent riots at the Capitol resulted in the deaths of several people. According to Democrats, Trump is to blame for the violence because he incited his supporters to storm the building and go after lawmakers who agreed to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Graham and a number of his Republican colleagues have criticized Trump, claiming that his rhetoric poured fuel on the fire and inspired his supporters to commit violent acts. Still, as Graham confirmed Sunday, most of them have gone on the record describing impeachment as unconstitutional.
Graham and nearly all of his GOP colleagues in the Senate have argued that it would be unconstitutional to convict Trump because he is no longer in office, which means that the evenly-split chamber will almost certainly acquit the former commander-in-chief of all charges once again.
“If you believe he committed a crime, he can be prosecuted like any other citizen,” @LindseyGrahamSC tells @margbrennan about the second #Trump #Impeachment trial pic.twitter.com/YScPLMQNNH
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 7, 2021
The American people disagree with Graham and other GOP lawmakers, polling suggests. For instance, the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 56 percent of Americans overall believe Trump should be both convicted and barred from ever holding office again.
Virtually all Democrats and a majority of independents in the poll said that the former commander-in-chief should be convicted and prohibited from holding federal office, but only 15 percent of Republicans agreed.
Similarly, a Quinnipiac University survey released earlier this week established that half of Americans believe the Senate should convict Trump, also finding that Republicans believe Biden did not win legitimately.
As CNN reported, Trump’s trial will begin next week, but it remains unclear whether any witnesses will be called.
