LONDON (CU)_US President Donald Trump was “completely wrong” to cast doubt on the US election and encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Speaking at a Downing Street briefing, the Prime Minister said he “unreservedly condemns” Trump’s actions.
Supporters of the President engulfed the building in chaos in full riot gear and clashed with the police, after the President urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes, which would confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Later in the day, it was reported that a woman died after being shot in the chest, while 3 others died from medical emergencies during the protests.
Hours after the riots began, President Trump finally asked his supporters to “go home”, but also continued to make false claims of electoral fraud thereby justifying and praising the mob’s actions.
However, following the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory by US lawmakers, President Trump has now committed to an “orderly” transition of power. Nevertheless, he still insists that US Presidential election held in November last year was a fraudulent one, and therefore “totally disagrees” with the outcome.
PM Johnson on Wednesday night (Jan 6) condemned Trump’s actions of encouraging the violent events by consistently casting doubt on the outcome of a “free and fair election”.
“[…] he (President Trump) encouraged people to storm the Capitol, and in so far as the president has consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong,” the British Prime Minister noted.
“I believe what President Trump has been saying about that has been completely wrong and I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol,” he added.
During the briefing the Prime Minister also welcomed the confirmation of President-elect Biden, saying “democracy has prevailed”.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel were among several British politicians who also criticised the violent events which unveiled in the US Capitol on Wednesday, as she noted that President Trump’s comments “directly led” to the events and he “didn’t do anything to de-escalate that”.
“He basically has made a number of comments yesterday that helped to fuel that violence and he didn’t actually do anything to de-escalate that whatsoever… what we’ve seen is completely unacceptable,” she added.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, also said the Trump should “take responsibility” for what happened, calling it the “culmination of years of the politics of hate and division”.
He also welcomed the outgoing President’s decision to carry out an orderly transition of power, adding that “he (President Trump) should have said it a long time ago.”
