Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Saturday he did not need to be convinced the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol was unpatriotic and un-American, and said he is angry at the events of that day, but he opted to vote for former President Donald Trump's acquittal because he would not let his anger lead him to support a vote he considered to be unconstitutional.
"I will not allow my anger over the criminal attack of Jan. 6 nor the political intimidation from the left to lead me into supporting a dangerous constitutional precedent," Rubio wrote in a statement after the vote.
However, that did not stop him from voicing what made him angry about the riots, or saying that seeing the images of the attack stirred up the anger in him.
"I do not need to be convinced that what happened on that day was the disgraceful work of a treasonous criminal mob," Rubio said. "But seeing images of that attack stirred up anger in me. Anger that our nation was embarrassed in the eyes of the world by our own citizens. Anger that Capitol Police officers that my family and I know personally had to deal with these low-lives.
"Anger that janitorial and food service staff I have gotten to know – many who came to America to get away from countries with political violence – had to clean up the mess left behind by these cretins."
Impeachment, Rubio said, is not a way of sending a message, but to remove a person from office who is guilty of wrongdoing.
He added, the Senate does not have power under the Constitution to convict a former official such as Trump, and to do so would create a new precedent and "weaponize" impeachment as a way to keep a former official from future public office.
"The real purpose of this trial was to tar and feather not just the rioters, but anyone who supported the former President and any senator who refuses to vote to convict," Rubio said.
He also called for a look to the future, because "we should be focused on the serious challenges of the present and preparing our country to confront the serious tests it will face in the future."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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