Biden Claims GOP Is ‘Vastly Diminished’ and ‘Fractured’ after Capitol Riot
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President Biden on Monday claimed the Republican party is “vastly diminished in numbers” after the January 6 Capitol riot and expressed disappointment in GOP senators who “know better” than to vote against an investigation into the riot but are “worried about being primaried.”
Biden’s remarks came in response to a question about whether NATO allies are shaken by the Capitol riot and the actions of former President Trump.
During a press conference after the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, Biden said that while other leaders may have seen things that “shock them and surprise them” they believe that the American people “are not going to sustain that kind of behavior.”
Asked if NATO allies are shaken by Trump's actions and January 6, Biden says they believe "the American people are not going to sustain that kind of behavior"
He says GOP is "vastly diminished in numbers" and senators who "know better" are "worried about being primaried" pic.twitter.com/Byp3e70hNY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 14, 2021
“I think it’s appropriate to say that the Republican party is vastly diminished in numbers,” he said. “The leadership of the Republican party is fractured and the Trump wing of the party is the bulk of the party but it makes up a significant minority of the American people.”
He added, however, that the “consequence of President Trump’s phony populism” has been a “shock and surprise.”
“It is disappointing that so many of my Republican colleagues in the Senate — who I know know better — have been reluctant to take on, for example, an investigation because they’re worried about being primaried,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, we’ve been through periods like this in American history before where there has been this reluctance to take a chance on your reelection because of the nature of your party’s politics at the moment.”
Biden’s comments come after Senate Republicans used their filibuster power last month to block a bill to form a commission tasked with investigating the Capitol riot. The legislation failed to reach the 60 votes required to advance.
Just six Republicans voted to advance the bill: Senators Lisa Murkowksi of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Lousiania, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio.
