As a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, forcing those inside to evacuate, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Green Bay) appeared on CNN to condemn the violence — placing the blame squarely on President Donald Trump and a handful of right-wing members of Congress who continued to baselessly cast doubt on the results of the presidential election.
Gallagher, who is a military veteran, compared the violence in Washington D.C. to his deployment to Iraq. Gallagher said he was hunkered down in his office while Trump supporters stormed the floor of the Senate.
“This is insane, I’ve not seen anything like this since I deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008,” Gallagher said. “This is America and this is what’s happening right now. The president needs to call it off. Call it off; it’s over. The objectors need to stop meddling with the primal forces of our democracy. There’s a cost.”
Dozens of members of the House and Senate — including Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson — were in the process of objecting to the certification of the presidential results when the police line was broken and the rioters moved inside.
Gallagher said the objecting members were harming American democracy.
“They think they’re just having a protest debate and they can get away with it because it’s not actually going to overturn the election,” he said. “Now we’re seeing the cost play out in real time. If we don’t think countries around the world are watching this happen right now — if we don’t think the Chinese Communist Party is watching right now and laughing.”
“Call it off Mr. President, we need you to call it off,” he added. “It’s not the Republican Party I signed up for.”
