Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called for the removal or resignation of President Donald Trump in a Thursday press conference, one day after the president incited hundreds of his supporters to swarm the U.S. Capitol in a violent insurrection that left four dead.
At the press conference, Hogan condemned the attack, calling it a “heinous” assault. He said “America would be better off” if Trump resigned or was removed from office, and that Vice President Mike Pence should conduct the peaceful transition of power to the next administration.
Hogan’s press conference came as a growing chorus of lawmakers called for Trump to be removed from office either by impeachment or the 25th Amendment to the Constitution — a step that would require Pence and a majority of the president’s Cabinet to declare Trump “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Since Former Vice President Joe Biden was declared president-elect in November, besting Trump by a sizeable margin, the president has continued to fan baseless conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from him. As lawmakers geared up to certify the election results Wednesday, Trump held a rally where he told thousands of his supporters he would never concede.
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In a since-removed video that Trump tweeted Wednesday, he told his supporters who were attacking the Capitol that he felt their pain and he loved them, but to “go home.”
When Hogan was informed of the attack on the Capitol on Wednesday, he said he immediately began moving forward in deploying the Maryland National Guard to assist in protecting the nation’s capital — a process that requires him to receive authorization from the Secretary of Defense to enter the district’s borders. However, Hogan said he was “repeatedly denied” permission to deploy.
After about an hour and a half, the Maryland National Guard was allowed to deploy; it was the first to arrive from outside of the district to defend the Capitol, Hogan said.
Hogan called the response to the attack on the Capitol “dysfunctional” and said he was not aware of why the Capitol was “not protected” or how the mob was able to break in.
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Hogan condemned the attack on the Capitol and the disregard for a peaceful transition of power; he said Trump “abandoned” his oath to support and defend the Constitution.
“What we saw in the nation’s Capitol was not just an attack on the people’s representatives, or historic buildings, and our law enforcement, it was an attack on the rule of law, the foundations of self-government, and who we are as Americans,” Hogan said.
Hogan emphasized the importance of the peaceful transition of presidential power in American history, and said the “sacred tradition” was under attack by Trump because he has “chosen to fan the flames of hate and mislead millions of voters through lies and conspiracy theories.”
Hogan called on government officials to forgo “toxic politics” and focus on delivering solutions to problems the country is facing, as well as “rising above” lies and focusing on the truth.
“I could never fathom a day like yesterday in America, but I will not stand for it, and neither should any American. I think I speak for many Americans when I say enough is enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the hate, enough of the total dysfunction, just enough.”
