MADISON, Wis. – Some Republican advocates are distancing themselves from the violence displayed by supporters of President Trump in Washington D.C. earlier this week.
“Probably like a lot of people, I was quite disturbed when I saw things advance even further to include acts of violence within the buildings themselves,” said Jay Mielke, Chairman of the Rock County GOP. “We do care about our institutions, and regardless of whether we win or lose an election, we have to respect those institutions and come together.”
Mielke said throughout the years, he’s found pride in upholding Republican ideals. However he says he’s disappointed in President Trump’s actions.
“I think the President really missed an opportunity to create a lasting impression yesterday,” he said. “He had an opportunity to bring together the country. Unite them. I wish he would’ve told everyone that it’s time to move on. That this is an orderly transition and it’s necessary for the health of this country. He didn’t take this opportunity. I’m rather disappointed.”
However, Mielke said he believes the group that stormed the U.S. Capitol represents only a very small portion of the party as a whole.
“The vast majorities are peaceful people that came there to be visible,” he said. “To express their dissatisfaction with how things have gone. Unfortunately I believe it’s very difficult to separate the actions of one group of people from the rest of them that are in there.”
Others, like former Wisconsin Republican Party leader Brandon Scholz, say those in D.C. crossed a line.
“The line is drawn heavily to those who want to incite violence, damage property, those that want to take it to the extreme and cause a riot,” he said. “That’s unacceptable.”
Scholz said Jan 6 will go down as a “low point” for the party, but said they will repair over time. He said he too sees what happened on Wednesday as Trump trying to manipulate the party for his own doing.
“It’s not a Republican Party position,” he said. “As much as the president wanted it to be, as much as the president tried to direct it to be, as much as the president attacked those republicans whether they’re elected officials or not for not supporting what he wanted. He tried to make it a party issue it’s not a Republican Party issue. It was not the Republican Party speaking. It was not the Republican Party attacking the Capitol.”
“Why can’t someone in the party just say, look, we’re going to move past this, we don’t have enough there to pursue further legal channels on this, so let’s move on and rebuild for the next two years,” Mielke said. “The answer is rather simple. The head of the party is the President. The President doesn’t want to do that. That’s why we’re in this situation.”
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