On Saturday, GOP members of the U.S. Senate made it clear to future presidents in their party that attempted coups and insurrection will absolutely be tolerated as long as they continue to get votes. Preservation of their party over the preservation of democracy, which all elected officials are sworn to protect, ruled the day. No matter how much Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell might want to rid the party of the stain of Trump, they will never be free of him, and his response after his acquittal in the Senate proves why.
Trump statement makes clear he’s not going away: “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you…” pic.twitter.com/vOCD30rTqW
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 13, 2021
Trump issued a statement following his acquittal, using lots of whataboutism. Perhaps the most infuriating part of the statement, the part where Trump showed exactly why a precedent should have been set for future presidents, came when he said that:
‘Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!’
In other words, Trump will try this again, and his most rabid supporters will, too. He will be a thorn in the Republican party’s side for the rest of his life, and it’s no less than they deserve. Make no mistake, Trump’s supporters heard his call which inspired the violence on January 6, and they hear it in this statement, too.
Twitter made it clear that they’re over the lack of accountability coming from the GOP. Read some of their comments below:
