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“The assault on the Capitol was a violent insurrection that was incited and encouraged by Donald Trump,” Rep. Jeffries said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Queens and Brooklyn), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, ripped Republicans and blasted the president this weekend, characterizing Donald Trump as “a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people.”
In an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” on Sunday, Jeffries was blunt in calling for Trump’s immediate removal from office.
“The assault on the Capitol was a violent insurrection that was incited and encouraged by Donald Trump. It was an attack on the Congress, an attack on the country and an attack on the Constitution. Donald Trump represents a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people as well as our democracy,” Jeffries said. “Now, there are three ways that that can be brought about: Vice President [Mike] Pence and a majority of the cabinet can step up and do the right thing and invoke the 25th Amendment, and we are going to continue to push them to do that; we can also impeach Donald Trump and he can be convicted and removed by the Senate that should come back into town to deal with this constitutional crisis and the existential threat to our democracy that’s sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; or the Republican enablers who are around Donald Trump can demand that he resign, similar to what took place in the aftermath of Watergate.”
Jeffries also noted that he’s been working with some GOP pols who also want to see Trump booted from the White House.
“Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and I worked closely together in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection and the assault on the Capitol just to make sure that the members of our respective caucuses were safe and secure and received as much information as possible during the unfolding events and in the immediate aftermath of what took place. She’s involved in the process, talking to her Republican colleagues about how they are going to deal with what’s taking place on this side of the aisle. I’ll let her speak to that. I do know that several Republicans have publicly, and some privately, indicated that Donald Trump needs to be removed and this long national nightmare needs to end,” the congressman added. “Part of the problem here, Chuck, is that Donald Trump and so many Republicans in the House and the Senate perpetrated the big lie that Joe Biden did not win the election and that the presidency was being stolen. The American people have spoken. More than 80 million people voted for Joe Biden. The states have spoken. More than 300 Electoral College votes in an Electoral College landslide. The courts have spoken, more than 50 different decisions, many written by Trump-appointed judges, all concluding that Joe Biden won the election in clear and convincing fashion. But the big lie was perpetrated, and that is what led to the insurrection, the coup d’état attempt and the assault on the Capitol. So, the Republicans are going to have to deal with that situation moving forward once we address Donald Trump.”
