Jeff Daniels blasts ‘cowardice’ of Senate Republicans against Trump

Actor Jeff Daniels on Monday denounced Senate Republicans, arguing Democracy was at stake under President Trump and that members of his own party should speak out against him.

Daniels accused Republicans of being too cowardly to speak out against Trump and more broadly said that the people in Congress “are all worthless” to him.

{mosads}”You look at the cowardice of the 15 or so Republicans in the Senate who are still quiet,” Daniels said on MSNBC before calling out former GOP senators Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) for going out the “back door.”

“That’s not courage. That’s making sure you’ve got a job somewhere after politics. Courage is standing up and being a true patriot like we used to have way back in 1776,” he added.

Jeff Daniels: You look at the silent cowardice of Senate Republicans. That’s not courage. Who are the heroes? Who will be the Daniel Ellsberg guy? I’m waiting for that guy … The people in Congress are worthless to me. Be heroic. Democracy is at stake. https://t.co/AZ16pR8syr pic.twitter.com/WyytSYGkca

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 21, 2019

Daniel Ellsberg was a military analyst who was instrumental in the leaking of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. The documents showed military and political leaders believed the Vietnam War could not be won.

Corker and Flake were both frequent critics of Trump, but both chose not to run for reelection in 2018.

Daniels, who is appearing on Broadway in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” also accused the GOP of using the “race card” to advance its agenda.

“At the end of the day, aside from ‘I don’t want to pay taxes,’ it’s race,” Daniels said. “It’s race. This is about the Republican Party — or a wing of it — going, ‘This is our last chance to save the party. And if we don’t, it’s the end of the Republican Party.'”

“And the only way they can do that was to tap the race button and say, ‘Go ahead. It’s OK.’ And he did, and they did. And that was the only card they had left to play, and they played it, and they aren’t going to go quietly,” he added.

Daniels has frequently criticized Trump and the GOP during Trump’s time in the White House. The actor said in March that the U.S. had “lost respect, decency, civilized behavior, integrity, class, accountability, responsibility” under Trump. 

He also implored Republicans to “step up” and put the country before the GOP.