© Win McNamee/Getty ImagesGrandpa Earpiece lives in a different reality
President Joe Biden issued a statement in response to former President Donald Trump's acquittal Saturday by claiming that the "substance" of the charge against him is "not in dispute."
Describing the recent turmoil as a "sad chapter in our history" that has "reminded us that democracy is fragile," Biden admonished Americans to be "ever vigilant" against violent extremism that would threaten their institutions.
The Senate acquitted Trump 57-43 on Saturday after he was impeached by the House of Representatives for allegedly inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol.
After blasting his predecessor, Biden called for an end to what he described as "the uncivil war" afflicting the United States. "That is the task ahead," he wrote. "And it's a task we must undertake together. As the United States of America."
Read Biden's
full statement below:
It was nearly two weeks ago that Jill and I paid our respects to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who laid in honor in the Rotunda after losing his life protecting the Capitol from a riotous, violent mob on January 6, 2021.
Today, 57 Senators - including a record 7 Republicans - voted to find former President Trump guilty for inciting that deadly insurrection on our very democracy. The Senate vote followed the bipartisan vote to impeach him by the House of Representatives. While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a "disgraceful dereliction of duty" and "practically and morally responsible for provoking" the violence unleashed on the Capitol.
Tonight, I am thinking about those who bravely stood guard that January day. I'm thinking about all those who lost their lives, all those whose lives were threatened, and all those who are still today living with terror they lived through that day. And I'm thinking of those who demonstrated the courage to protect the integrity of our democracy - Democrats and Republicans, election officials and judges, elected representatives and poll workers - before and after the election.
This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
That is how we end this uncivil war and heal the very soul of our nation. That is the task ahead. And it's a task we must undertake together. As the United States of America.
Trump struck a different tone in his response to his acquittal,
accusing the Democratic Party of corrupting the rule of law to destroy their political opponents and enable criminals.
Comment: RINOs try to
salvage their reputations:
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Donald Trump "practically and morally responsible" for his supporters' deadly attack on the Capitol, only moments after voting to acquit the Republican former president on an impeachment charge of inciting the melee.
The top Senate Republican explained the unexpected turnabout at the end of a five-day impeachment trial, by declaring it unconstitutional to convict Trump of misconduct now that the former president has left office and become a private citizen.
"Senator Mitch McConnell just went to the floor essentially to say that we made our case on the facts," said Representative Jamie Raskin, who had led the nine House Democrats who prosecuted Trump before the Senate.
McConnell was not the only Republican to castigate Trump for his behavior after voting for acquittal.
"The question I must answer is not whether President Trump said and did things that were reckless and encouraged the mob. I believe that happened," Senator Rob Portman in a statement.
"My decision was based on my reading of the Constitution," the Ohio Republican added. "I believe the Framers understood that convicting a former president and disqualifying him or her from running again pulls people further apart."
Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate's most senior Republican, described Trump's language in a fiery speech to supporters just before the Capitol assault as "extreme, aggressive and irresponsible."
But he said the Senate had no jurisdiction to hold a trial, agreed with Trump's legal team that the former president deserved more "due process" and said the prosecution had not made their case.
Vodka Nan was so incensed by the result, she crashed McConnell's press conference to say so:
RT highlights The Turtle's attempt to play
both sides of the aisle. It's not going well:
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, normally a savvy political operator, managed to infuriate Republicans and Democrats of all stripes by both acquitting and excoriating former president Donald Trump over the Capitol riot.
"Impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice," said McConnell, who voted against conviction because he didn't believe the Senate had the constitutional jurisdiction to convict a president who had already left office. McConnell added, "He didn't get away with anything yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one."
If McConnell was trying to thread a political needle through warring factions, he apparently missed the mark as both sides bashed him for "trying to have it both ways." Democrats said it was absurd for McConnell to vote against conviction on a "technicality" when it was the senator himself, then majority leader, who allegedly blocked the impeachment trial from behind held before Trump left office.
McConnell also failed to win any friends in his own party. "If only McConnell was so righteous as the Democrats trampled Trump and the Republicans while pushing Russia collusion bulls**t for three years or while Dems incited 10 months of violence, arson and rioting," Donald Trump Jr. said.
Future action?
Comment: RINOs try to salvage their reputations: Vodka Nan was so incensed by the result, she crashed McConnell's press conference to say so:
RT highlights The Turtle's attempt to play both sides of the aisle. It's not going well: