Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” that President Donald Trump’s pardoning the January 6 protesters created “a pretext for more political violence in our country.”
Host Chis Hayes said, “The president of the United States released violent criminals. And this is not hyperbole and this is not editorializing. I am just stating what happened.”
Booker said, “No, it’s worse than that, Chris. It’s so much worse than just that. It’s worse than that because he’s basically saying, if I incite you to riot, if I don’t get my way, if I lose in the democratic fashion, I’m going to send you to do things that are anti-democratic. And if you attack the Capitol, if you stop the peaceful transfer of power, if you stop the workings of Congress, if you attack violently, police officers with stun guns to the neck, with batons to the head, if you crush spines and skulls, then don’t worry about it. You’re doing it in my name for my benefit, I’m just going to pardon you. What he is doing right now is creating a pretext for more political violence in our country in his name, and that is terrifying.”
He added, “So right now is the time to stand up and tell the truth to the American people. Donald Trump so far, 36 hours is not fulfilling his promises to you to make your life easier, to lower your prices, to make things more affordable, to make you safer. He is not. He’s clearly pursuing an agenda that is advancing his political retribution. Pardoning these people is setting up a situation where, again, like he did in his first term, he’s eroding not just democratic norms, but in many ways, he’s making our democracy less secure.”
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