Anonymous ID: 7679da Oct. 10, 2021, 5:14 p.m. No.14762059   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2084

>>14762047

 

>Opinion: The most alarming Trump rally yet

 

At Trump's past post-presidency events, you wouldn't find the state's leading GOP officials attending en masse. In fact, at a rally in Georgia last month, Trump railed against the state's Republican leaders for refusing to assist him in illegally overturning the 2020 election. Trump even told the crowd he'd prefer potential Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams as governor over his fellow Republican who's currently in office, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

 

Saturday's rally in Iowa, though, was different. This one was attended by longtime Iowa US Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, and other mainstream Republican officials. Some of these very same people, who just nine months ago were slamming Trump for his role in the Capitol riots, were now only too happy to be seen supporting him. This is politics at its worst – and at its most dangerous for our democracy.

 

The most hypocritical of the bunch is Sen. Grassley, who on January 6 was escorted by his security detail to a secure location to protect him from the pro-Trump mob that had laid siege on the Capitol. Grassley, who voted to certify the 2020 election, made a veiled reference to Trump in his statement, noting that the lawsuits filed after the election had failed and that "politicians in Washington should not second guess the courts once they have ruled."

 

In February, however, after Trump's impeachment trial for allegedly inciting the January 6 insurrection (allegations which Trump has denied), Grassley was even more direct with his criticism. He said in a statement that "President Trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen even though the courts didn't back up his claims," and "belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get his way." Grassley added that Trump "encouraged his own, loyal vice president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional actions during the Electoral College count."

 

Grassley continued bluntly: "There's no doubt in my mind that President Trump's language was extreme, aggressive, and irresponsible," sharing his view that all involved in the attack including Trump "must take responsibility for their destructive actions that day."