One of former President Trump’s longtime allies in the Senate said Sunday that Trump would be remembered for his role in the events leading up to the deadly riot that overtook the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) indicated that he thought history would judge Trump’s responsibility for the siege that resulted in the deaths of several people, including one Capitol Police officer, but added that he did not think it was the Senate’s role to convict the former president for inciting the riot.
“Well, I mean, he’s going to have a place in history for all of this, but the point of the matter is that we’re in Congress. We’re not prosecutors. Impeachment was never meant to be a prosecution,” Graham said.
“I think I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it’s blatantly unconstitutional,” Graham continued, before adding, “As to Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican Party. He had a consequential presidency. Jan. 6 was a very bad day for America, and he’ll get his share of blame in history.”
Graham’s comments come as the Senate GOP has signaled that a conviction of the former president is unlikely to occur, as many members have expressed doubt over whether such a maneuver is constitutional.
A number of Republicans, including Graham, have criticized the former president over the Jan. 6 violence. The president’s second impeachment by the House last month saw 10 Republicans vote in favor of charging him with inciting an insurrection.
The South Carolina Republican, a top ally of the former president during his one term in the White House, said last month that Trump’s legacy had been “tarnished” by the riot and that Trump’s “actions were the problem” that led to the violence.