Perino: Don’t tar all Trump supporters with violence we saw at Capitol
Fox News anchor Dana Perino says it is important to separate the ‘bad actors’ at the Capitol from the tens of millions who supported President Trump.
“It’s going to be very important to try to separate those who were bad actors” during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday from the tens of millions of people who voted for President Trump, Fox News’ Dana Perino told “America’s Newsroom” on Thursday.
“The Daily Briefing” host made the point reacting to a tweet from former Speaker of the House John Boehner.
“I once said the party of Lincoln and Reagan is off taking a nap. The nap has become a nightmare for our nation,” Boehner tweeted on Thursday.
“The GOP must awaken,” he continued. “The invasion of our Capitol by a mob, incited by lies from some entrusted with power, is a disgrace to all who sacrificed to build our Republic.”
Boehner was one of several former leaders at the Capitol who have reacted to the chaos that ensued when violent pro-Trump protesters interrupted the proceedings to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Wednesday’s session quickly recessed as protesters violently clashed with police before storming the Capitol building, and Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the joint session, was evacuated. All others were told to shelter in place and take cover.
Perino noted on Thursday that “it’s going to be important for Republicans” to “come together at some point or the party doesn’t exist.”
She pointed out that “over the generations, you’ve seen the Republican Party absorb different types of people into a coalition.”
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She went on to ask if there is a place “for people who might have been traditional Republicans, as they call them ‘the establishment,’ as well as these new voters that President Trump brought along” to come together.
“It’s going to be very important to try to separate those who were bad actors yesterday from the 73.9 million people who voted for President Trump,” she continued. “They weren’t at the Capitol yesterday. They’re hard at work.”
She went on to note that the people who voted for Trump either believed in him or liked his policies and perhaps didn’t necessarily like him.
“Regardless, there’s a lot of people out there today that are frustrated,” Perino said, stressing that “they shouldn’t all be tarred with the same brush.”
She did, however, acknowledge that “there were a lot of bad actors” at the Capitol on Wednesday and that the violence was “incited.”
Perino added that she thinks “we need a lot more information about how the Capitol was overrun.”
“The security there completely failed and we have to figure that out,” she said.
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