President Trump Declares State of Emergency, Calls for 'No Violence' as Dems Push Ahead with Impeachment

Eric Philips : Jan 12, 2021
CBN News

"I think [impeachment is] a mistake because on one hand they talk about unity and bringing the country together, yet you try to impeach the president a second time It's going to further divide the country."  -Franklin Graham

[CBN News] President Trump spoke briefly on Tuesday morning, addressing the Democrat attempt to impeach him a second time, before Inauguration Day. Trump said the impeachment push over the Capitol riot is enflaming more anger, but he made it clear he's calling for peace, stating emphatically, "I want no violence." (Screengrab image)

“To continue on this path, I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our country, and it’s causing tremendous anger," the president said.

The FBI says its intelligence points to the possible threat of armed protests at all 50 state capitols beginning this weekend through Inauguration Day. This, as leaders on Capitol Hill move forward with actions to impeach President Trump.

Before this morning, the president had been mostly silent since last week, partly because he's been banned by Twitter and Facebook. Today he said his comments to the crowd last Wednesday were "totally appropriate." That comes after he had reportedly been acknowledging he bears some blame for the riot at the US Capitol. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy says the President expressed that during a phone conversation.

Trump Declares State of Emergency

Monday, Vice President Pence and President Trump met for the first time since the attack. They pledged to work together through the final days of the administration.

With images of the violent demonstration still fresh in everyone's mind, the president is now declaring a state of emergency, stretching from January 11 through days after the Presidential Inauguration... The order prompts FEMA to mobilize any federal resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of any emergency that may arise.

At least 10,000 National Guard troops are being activated to keep peace in the nation's capital during the upcoming inauguration.

At the same time, the FBI is warning of nationwide danger. Statehouses coast to coast are boarding up, preparing for protests and potentially violent demonstrations. This as federal authorities say an unnamed, armed group is calling for "storming" government buildings if President Trump is removed from office before January 20th.

Pelosi Calls Trump 'Deranged' as She Pushes to Impeach a Second Time

Still, efforts to impeach the president move forward. "Well, sadly, the person that's running the Executive Branch is a deranged, unhinged, dangerous president," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). 

More than 200 House Democrats introduced a single article of impeachment Monday, charging the president with "incitement of insurrection" for "inciting violence against the government of the United States," after they say the president, with his rhetoric, encouraged a mob to attack the US Capitol building last week.

Even some of the president's allies have turned on him. "I do think the president committed impeachable offenses," said Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Senate Democrat Speaks Against Impeachment

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham says impeachment would be a mistake. "I think it's a mistake because on one hand they talk about unity and bringing the country together, yet you try to impeach the president a second time," Graham said. "It's going to further divide the country."

And one Senate Democrat is calling on House Democrats to reconsider impeachment. "I think this is so ill-advised for Joe Biden to be coming in, trying to heal the country, trying to be the president of all the people, when we're going to be so divided and fighting again," said Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Ohio Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan disagrees. "They say that if we impeach, it could make matters worse," he said. "Matters can't get worse. We just had a potential coup attempt."

Graham says, though he opposes impeachment, the actions at the Capitol that took five lives, including a Capitol Hill police officer, should be dealt with severely.

"The people that broke into the building, those are thugs," Graham said. "They should not have done that. They broke the law. They have security cameras and I hope they can identify every one of them and prosecute them. Put them in jail where they belong because what happened was wrong."

Meanwhile, DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf has become the latest member of the administration to resign over the situation.

A House vote on impeachment is expected to happen Wednesday. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here