Former President Barack Obama blamed the violence that broke out in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday on President Trump and his refusal to accept the results of the election.
After events on Capitol Hill spiraled out of control Obama issued a statement calling the day’s protests “a moment of great dishonor and shame for our country” caused by Trump’s baseless lies about the election and its outcome.
Obama branded Trump and his supporters’ refusal to accept Joe Biden as the rightfully elected president as a “fantasy narrative that has spiraled further and further from reality.”
“Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy,” Obama wrote. “They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires, Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America.”
Former President Bill Clinton also issued a statement late Wednesday about the “unprecedented assault” on the Capitol, Constitution, and country, where he too laid blame on Trump’s “poison politics.”
A source told Fox News on Wednesday that both chambers of Congress – where lawmakers had hoped to reconvene – were “trashed,” with glass strewn about “everywhere.”
Tear gas was used to clear out crowds, and one woman was shotand killed. Protesters broke into both chambers of Congress.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the actions of violent protestors at the Capitol. Some Republicans have even turned their backs on Trump and accused him of encouraging the events and failing to intervene.
Trump posted a video message on Twitter urging protesters to remain peaceful and to go home.
