After hours of chaos and violence on Capitol Hill and demands from Republican leaders that he condemns the violence, President Donald Trump did the exact opposite, continuing to stoke anger among his supporters about his recent presidential election loss.
After Trump gave a vitriolic speech where he urged his supporters to descend onto Capitol Hill, they did just that, rioting in the Capitol Building, attacking police, and planting at least two bombs, police sources told NBC News.
Videos showed Trump supporters shattering windows at the Capitol Building and making it onto both the House floor and the Senate floor as well as into the offices of senior congressional leaders.
Trump eventually heeded the demands of his party, releasing a message to supporters where he told them to go home, but only after further stoking the anger that led to the riots in the first place.
"It's a very tough period of time. There's never been a period of time like this, where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country," Trump said in a pre-recorded message released on Wednesday afternoon.
"This was a fraudulent election. But we can't play into play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you; you're very special."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
In an unprecedented measure, unseen before today, Twitter turned off all of the comments and would not allow people to like or share the video.
They also tagged it with the following message:
"This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this tweet can't be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence."
Amazingly, news outlets reported that the White House is actually in communication with the rioters even as they plant multiple bombs at buildings across Washington, D.C. Apparently, the plan of the rioters is to stay in the Capitol Building through the night.
"I know your pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side," Trump said in the video. "But you have to go home now."
A source close to the White House who is in touch with some of the rioters at the Capitol said it's the goal of those involved to stay inside the Capitol through the night.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 6, 2021
Multiple outlets are now reporting that the National Association of Manufacturers, the nation's largest manufacturing association that works with some of the biggest companies in the country, has asked Vice President Mike Pence to potentially remove Trump from office in order to stop the violence.
“The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution,” the statement read.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said she and other members of Congress were also considering impeachment.
"I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment," she wrote on Twitter. "Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the United States Senate. We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."
