WASHINGTON DC, USA – JANUARY 6: Security forces block the entrance after US President Donald Trumps supporters violated US Capitol Security in Washington DC, USA, on January 6, 2021. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol when lawmakers were set to sign off Wednesday on President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory in what was supposed to be a routine process leading up to Inauguration Day. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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The head of the National Association of Manufacturers, a group representing 14,000 companies in the U.S., said Wednesday that clashes in Washington that interrupted a congressional rally to confirm the outcome of the 2020 presidential election college , was not the vision of America in which manufacturers believe ‘and called on Vice President Pence to make a serious appeal to the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove President Donald Trump from office.
The statement came during the Business Roundtable and leaders such as Michael Corbat, CEO of Citi, and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, condemned the actions.
Jay Timmons, the group’s president and chief executive officer and a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, pointed to the millions of people in manufacturing working to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which is leading to an economic recession.
Last year, the group gave an award to President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, for “extraordinary support” of manufacturing in America.
Here is Timmons’ full statement:
“Armed violent protesters who support the unsubstantiated assertion of outgoing President Trump that he somehow won an election he overwhelmingly lost today stormed the US Capitol and attacked police officers and first responders because Trump refused to to accept a defeat in a free and fair election. During this entire heinous episode, Trump is applauded by members of his own party, who have supplemented the mistrust that has fueled violent anger. This is not law and order. This is chaos, this is the rule of the mob. This is dangerous. This is is distraction and should be treated as such. The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader who defended him violated their oath to the Constitution and rejected democracy in favor of anarchy. Anyone who gives up conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars Vice President Pence, who has been ousted from the Capitol, should seriously consider applying with the Cabinet the 25th amendment to preserve. democracy.
This is not the vision of America in which manufacturers believe and work hard to defend. Across America, millions of manufacturing workers are helping our country fight the deadly pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. We are trying to build an economy and save and rebuild lives. But none of this will matter if our leaders refuse to repel this attack on America and our democracy – because our system of government, which underlies our way of life, will crumble. ‘