WASHINGTON, D.C. (WRDE/AP)- Delaware senator Tom Carper says President Donald Trump must resign immediately in the wake of an insurrection on Capitol Hill.
In a statement, Carper wrote that a violent mob was incited by the president and Trump did not protect democracy.
"Instead of watching the ceremonial tallying of electoral votes, we saw an insurrection here in the United States of America," he wrote. "The blatant misinformation that Donald Trump embraces and the white supremacists and other extremists that he refuses to disavow, have been allowed into our politics, and today, they forced their way into our Capitol."
President Donald Trump appears to be excusing the violent occupation of the U.S. Capitol by supporters who disrupted the formalization of his electoral defeat. During a midday rally near the White House, Trump had encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol to protest lawmakers' actions.
In a video amid the violence, Trump praised the protesters as “special” people and said he understood their pain. Later, in a tweet, he called the violence “the things and events that happen” when “a sacred landslide election” has been stripped away. Trump has falsely claimed for months that his election loss was due to fraud.
Carper alleges that President Trump's concern is only for himself, and says if Trump does not resign, politicians must remove him from office.
"It's not enough to simply 'turn the temperature down.' My Republican colleagues must unequivocally reject the conspiracy theories and extremism that fueled this attack on our peaceful transition of power," Carper said. "Tell the American people the truth. Choose the world's greatest democracy over Donald Trump."