As reaction continued today to yesterday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who is expected to soon move into the powerful position of Senate Majority Leader, called for the removal of Trump from the presidency.
At the same time, Mark Zuckerberg, head of Facebook, announced that Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will be cut off at least until after Joe Biden is inaugurated as president on Jan. 20.
“This president should not hold office one day longer,” Schumer said. “The quickest and most effective way ”“ it can be done today ”“ to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th amendment. If the vice president and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”
For his part, Zuckerberg said, “What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
It was last night that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced he was complying with a request of U.S. National Guard officials and is deploying 1,000 members of the New York National Guard to Washington, D.C. The troops will be there for up to two weeks. Their mission will be to aid in the peaceful transition of presidential power. Cuomo did not specify which units are being deployed.
The New York National Guard deployment follows Wednesday’s mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol that led to four deaths, three from medical incidents. Units from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia had been called to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as a mob of several thousand that had been incited by President Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others at a rally stormed the Capitol building.
Trump had repeated his lies about winning the election and it being stolen from him while telling those at the rally to go to the Capitol because “you will never take back our country with weakness.”
The mob broke though barriers, climbed walls, smashed windows and invaded the building, rushing past dramatically outnumbered Capitol police. There were reports that some Capitol police welcomed them. Members of the mob vandalized offices and the Senate and House chambers.
Local police, the FBI, Secret Service and personnel from other agencies were called in to help gain control of the situation, some aiming their guns at invaders and others firing tear gas canisters. Several gunshots were reported. A female mob member was shot and later died at a hospital. The number of injuries that occurred was not immediately reported. There were more than 50 arrests.
The insurrection forced the Senate and House to stop their session to formally count the Electoral College votes that confirmed former Vice President Joe Biden as the new president. The members of the House and Senate were taken to secure locations for their safety.
The National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons called for Vice President Pence to work with the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. The organization represents 14,000 companies nationwide.
Timmons said, “Throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has enflamed violent anger. This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such.”
Gov. Cuomo late Wednesday issued a statement saying, “The cornerstone of our democracy is the peaceful transfer of power. We must call this what it actually is ”“ a failed attempt at a coup. This is the final chapter of an incompetent, cruel and divisive administration that has trampled on the Constitution and the rule of law at every turn, and we won’t let President Trump, the members of Congress who enable him or the lawless mob that stormed our nation’s Capitol steal our democracy.”
Westchester County Executive George Latimer noted, “We have a situation that represents today what is the culmination of a number of years where we have broken down the proper barriers that protect us as a democracy. We have existed for over 250 years as a democracy, but no democracy has existed indefinitely. Totalitarianism always knocks. It”™s always easier to rule completely if one man rules the whole nation, without a need for messy debate.
“You have that in Russia, China, North Korea, Iran ”“ and we don”™t want the here in the United States of America. It is time for our fellow Americans to understand that the election process has played out and has given us a new president and a new Congress.”
White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said of the events at the Capitol, “They must be described plainly as what they are ”“ an insurrection.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “The coup attempt initiated by outgoing President Trump has been despicable. These actions, fueled by lies and wild conspiracy theories espoused by President Trump, must be unequivocally condemned by every corner of our society.”
