The Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado said Sunday that former President Donald Trump bore more responsibility in preventing the violence that ensued during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Joe O’Dea is challenging Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet for a seat Republicans hope to flip in their bid to retake the upper chamber. He highlighted the lack of response from Mr. Trump for hours during the riot.
“I think our former president could’ve done a lot more to stop that. Three and a half hours to say, ‘Enough’s enough.’ That’s wrong. I think that January 6th was a black eye on our country,” Mr. O’Dea said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Anybody that did some violence or hurt some people, they should be held accountable.”
That is in stark contrast to Mr. Trump, who vowed this month in a radio interview to “very, very seriously” consider pardons and a government apology to convicted Capitol rioters if he’s re-elected in 2024.
In a split 50-50 Senate where the GOP needs only a net gain of one seat, Republicans are eyeing Mr. O’Dea.
“I wouldn’t give full pardons to anybody that’s violent. We need to hold those people accountable,” Mr. O’Dea said. “That should never happen again.”
The Republican Senate candidate, who has not been endorsed by Mr. Trump, said it should come as no surprise that he does not want him to run again.
“I’m the only Senate candidate for the Republican Party that hasn’t been endorsed by Donald Trump. Probably not going to send me a Christmas card,” he said. “I don’t want to see him run again. I don’t want to see Joe Biden run again.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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