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U.S. Rep. Ken Buck on Thursday assigned some blame for the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol to President Donald Trump, one day after saying Trump was not at all responsible for the destructive mob.<\/p>\n
But the Windsor Republican does not think Trump should be removed from office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s plenty of blame to go around<\/a>,\u201d Buck said during an appearance on KDVR-TV. \u201cThe president deserves some of the blame. His language, obviously, got people fired up.\u201d<\/p>\n Buck, who is also chair of the Colorado GOP, said he thinks the riot stems from years of political divisions in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cI blame myself and I blame others in Congress for what happened,\u201d he told KDVR. \u201cThe bottom line is we need to figure out a way to move forward and find ways to develop good policy without the kind of rhetoric and heat that has been developed.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, hours after rioters breached the U.S. Capitol, Buck separated Trump from the mob<\/a>. That\u2019s despite the fact that the president, speaking at a rally near the Capitol, urged his supporters to head toward Congress and have their voiced be heard.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a prosecutor for 25 years. When people do stupid things, the people that do those things are responsible,\u201d Buck told The Colorado Sun during a brief interview on Wednesday. \u201cThe president didn\u2019t order anybody to do this. This is a country that welcomes protest \u2014 peaceful protest. I don\u2019t blame the president at all for this.\u201d<\/p>\n Buck spoke to The Sun by phone soon after he was evacuated from the House floor. A spokeswoman for the congressman said he didn\u2019t change his mind about Trump\u2019s responsibility for the riot, but rather that those comments were just his initial reaction after the chaos.<\/p>\n One woman was fatally shot by police and three others died after what authorities called \u201cmedical emergencies\u201d during the riot on Wednesday. Members of Congress were evacuated from the U.S. Capitol and debate over whether to approve the results of the 2020 presidential election was halted for hours as law enforcement pushed the mob out.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, all six Democratic members of Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation are now advocating for Trump to be removed from office, either through the invocation of the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or through impeachment. Trump is scheduled to exit the White House and cede power to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20.<\/p>\n The 25th Amendment is a mechanism by which the vice president and either a combination of the president\u2019s cabinet or a select group of members of Congress can remove the president from power.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump needs to be removed from office now,\u201d U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette wrote on Twitter. \u201cThe vice president and cabinet need to invoke the 25th Amendment today. If they don\u2019t, Congress should move to impeach him immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, said he believes \u201cthe president is unfit for office and the administration should invoke the 25th Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, said, \u201cHe\u2019s on his way out, but I\u2019d support any option to remove him from power faster.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, said the 25th Amendment needed to be invoked \u201cfor the sake of our republic\u201d and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Arvada, said removing Trump is the only way to ensure the peaceful transfer of power to Biden.<\/p>\n Buck rejected the idea of the 25th Amendment being invoked, citing the limited time Trump has left in office and the bad precedent that would set.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s silly,\u201d Buck told KDVR. \u201cThe president is not mentally incapable of performing.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora, said the country can\u2019t wait <\/a>until Jan. 20.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have known for a long time that Donald Trump is violent and unstable. After what happened yesterday, 13 days is too long,\u201d Crow tweeted.<\/p>\n Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n