GOP Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins North Carolina GOP Condemns Burr Over Impeachment Vote Against Trump Toomey Over Trump Vote: ‘His Constitution Betrayal’ Required Collins’ Conviction: Trump ‘Incited a Uprising’ To Prevent Transfer (Maine) said that first on Saturday President Trump
Donald Trump Biden on Trump Acquittal: ‘Substance of Indictment Is Not in dispute’ North Carolina GOP Convicts Burr for Impeaching Trump Toomey on Trump Vote: ‘His Treason of the Constitution’ Required Conviction MORE “sparked an uprising” against the Capitol on January 6, laying the groundwork for months by claiming the election had been stolen from him.
“That attack was not a spontaneous outbreak of violence. Rather, it was the culmination of a steady stream of provocations by President Trump aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election,” Collins said from the Senate floor.
Collins was one of seven GOP senators who voted Saturday to condemn Trump for instigating an uprising. While the senators did not achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to convict the former president, this represented a significant two-part rebuke to his actions.
During her speech, Collins set out a timeline for how she believed Trump had prepared the political sphere for the eventual violent crowd by repeating false claims of widespread voter fraud.
“The president’s unprecedented attempts to discredit the election results did not begin on January 6. On the contrary, he planted the seeds of doubt many weeks before a vote was taken on November 3. To lose,” Collins said.
Collins also pointed to Trump’s actions in the immediate aftermath of the election, where he tweeted that it was “stolen”, saying it showed his “post-election campaign to change the outcome was starting.”
Collins also pointed to a stunning phone call Trump had with Georgian officials urging them to “ find nearly 12,000 votes, ” as well as attempts to get the then vice president. Mike Pence
Michael (Mike) Richard Pence Collins: Trump ‘instigated an uprising’ to prevent McConnell from discharging power over Trump: ‘Morally responsible’ for provoking mob Seven GOP senators vote to condemn Trump MORE to throw away the results of the electoral college on January 6.
“In this situation, context was everything. Throwing a lit match into a pile of dry leaves is very different from a pool of water. And on January 6, the atmosphere among the crowd outside the White House was highly flammable, largely the result of bad winds blowing from Washington for the past two months, ”she added.
“That paved the way for the storming of the Capitol for the first time in more than 200 years,” she added.
Collins, who won re-election last year, is part of a dwindling group of Senate moderates and has been seen as a crucial turnaround in the impeachment process.
As part of an hour-long question-and-answer session on Friday, Senator Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska), Senator. Mitt Romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt Romney North Carolina GOP Condemns Burr Over Impeachment Vote Against Trump Toomey Over Trump Vote: ‘His Constitution Betrayal’ Required Collins’ Conviction: Trump ‘Incited Rebellion’ To Prevent Transfer of Power MORE (R-Utah) and Sen. Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy North Carolina GOP Condemns Burr For Impeaching Trump Toomey Over Trump Vote: ‘His Constitution Betrayal’ Required Collins’ Conviction: Trump ‘Incited Rebellion’ To Prevent Transfer MORE MORE (R-La.) Asked questions about when Trump found the Capitol being violated and what steps he took next.
“Rather than avoid a dangerous situation, President Trump created one. And instead of defending the constitutional transfer of power, he unleashed an uprising to prevent the transfer of power from happening, “Collins said.
She added that by “subordinating the country’s interests to his own selfish interests, Trump bears considerable responsibility for the invasion of the Capitol.”