Senate Republicans Refuse to Hold Trump Accountable for Dangerous Publicity Stunt

Vulnerable Senate Republicans Defend or Stay Silent on Tear Gassing of Peaceful Demonstrators

Vulnerable Senate Republicans on the ballot in November are refusing to hold President Trump accountable for his actions Monday night which led to peaceful protesters being tear-gassed and removed from a public square, where they were speaking out against violence against Black Americans, to clear the way for a presidential photo op. When asked yesterday to respond, GOP Senators feigned ignorance or dodged the questions. Some vulnerable Republicans even defended him. 

The cowardice displayed by Senate Republicans as they refuse to take meaningful action to hold President Trump accountable for his failed leadership has earned them a well deserved round of blistering headlines. 

WATCH: 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

NBC: Senate Republicans struggle to respond to Trump’s actions on protests

By Leigh Ann Caldwell, Kasie Hunt and Julie Tsirkin

Key Points:

• Republican senators struggled Tuesday to address President Donald Trump’s harsh response to peaceful protesters who gathered outside the White House on Monday night, with many dodging questions about whether the tactics were too much or amounted to an abuse of power that infringed on people’s First Amendment rights.

• And some senators offered full-throated defenses of the president, with Steve Daines, R-Mont., thanking the president for his leadership and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, denouncing protesters outside the White House as the people who were abusing power, not police.

• But the scattered responses underscored just how difficult Trump’s actions are for Republicans seeking re-election in November. The approach of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., illustrated the dilemma they’re in: They can’t be seen on television criticizing the president for fear he’ll attack them, but they’re also struggling to defend him.

• McConnell declined an opportunity to address Trump’s handling of the latest crisis, saying that he wouldn’t comment on whether the president was exhibiting the leadership the country needs and that he’s “not going to critique other people’s performances.”

• Criticizing the president often comes with huge risks for Republicans, who can see their voter bases of support slip away with a single critical tweet by the president. After a tumultuous six to nine months in 2017 when the president and the Republican Congress were in conflict, most Republicans resigned themselves to the fact that they would have to keep quiet or tread softly if they disagreed with the president.

• But that strategy is being tested with a nation in the grips of several crises.

Read the full story here. 

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