WASHINGTON DC, USA – JANUARY 6: Security forces block entry after supporters of US President Donald Trumps breached the security of the US Capitol in Washington DC, United States on January 6, 2021. Pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol as legislators were set to sign on Wednesday the electoral victory for President-elect Joe Biden in what should be a routine process towards inauguration day. (Photo: 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 United States, said on Wednesday that the clashes in Washington that interrupted a Congressional meeting to certify the results of the Electoral College in the 2020 presidential elections “were not the vision of America that manufacturers believe in and called on Vice President Pence to “seriously consider” invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office.
The statement was made during the Business Round and leaders such as Citi CEO Michael Corbat and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff condemned the acts.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the group and former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, pointed to the millions of people in jobs in the industry who are working to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has sparked an economic recession.
Last year, the group gave an award to President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, for “extraordinary support” for manufacturing in America.
Here is Timmons’ full statement:
“Armed violent protesters who support President Trump’s baseless claim that he somehow won an election he lost by crushing invaded the US Capitol today, attacking police and first responders, because Trump refused to accept defeat in a free election and Throughout this disgusting episode, Trump was applauded by members of his own party, heightening the suspicion that ignited violent rage. This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such. The outgoing president has incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader who defends him is violating his oath to the constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars are complicit. Vice President Pence, who has been evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.
This is not the vision of America that manufacturers believe in and strive to defend. Across America today, millions of industry workers are helping our nation fight the deadly pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. We are trying to rebuild an economy and save and rebuild lives. But none of this will matter if our leaders refuse to defend themselves against this attack on America and our democracy – because our own system of government, which underpins our own way of life, will collapse. “