“We don’t have to try to explain or invent alternative versions. We all saw what happened,” Blunt told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on January 6, when a crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in a an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 elections, it clashed with law enforcement, invaded Congressional offices and threatened the lives of then Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers.
Calling January 6 “a terrible day for America”, the Missouri Republican said, “I think it was absolutely unacceptable and we can’t allow that kind of thing to happen again in our country.”
On Saturday, Johnson falsely claimed that there was no violence on the Senate side at the U.S. Capitol during the attack, and earlier this month he said he “never really felt threatened” and “was not worried” during the riot because he believed the protesters were “people who love this country, who truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law.”
The Wisconsin Republican made several comments downplaying the severity of the attack on the Capitol, including saying previously that he did not believe that what happened was an “armed insurrection”. Johnson also defended the conspiracy theory that there were professional bullies within the Capitol crowd – although the FBI said there was no evidence that Antifa or any other group of left-wing instigators was part of the crowd.
Former President George W. Bush, a Republican, told the Texas Tribune that he “was sick … to see our nation’s capitol being invaded by hostile forces.”
On Sunday, Blunt told NBC that he is “much more in agreement” with Bush’s view of what happened on January 6.
While negotiations to form an independent 9/11 style committee to investigate the riot have stalled, Blunt, as the top Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, argued that Congress could “move forward and make the changes that need to be made” in security of the Capitol.
“Congress itself has the capacity here to move forward,” said Blunt. “This does not mean that I am opposed to a commission, but frankly I believe that the commission would probably be a reason to wait and not do the things that we know we need to do now.”
Blunt announced earlier this month that he will not seek re-election.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.
