Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) criticized his Republican colleagues in Congress Saturday after they met with former President Trump in closed-door meetings earlier this week, calling the positivity around the visit “a scandal and a disgrace.”
The Maryland lawmaker’s remarks come just two days after Trump made a visit to Capitol Hill Thursday — his first since the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks — and attempted to paint a picture of GOP unity.
“Well, he came back to the scene of his crime. He made no apology to 150 Capitol officers, MPD., Montgomery county police officers who were injured and wounded by the mob he unleashed against us on that day,” Raskin said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
“There were Republicans who had at least tried to cry foul at that moment, who now have completely swallowed all their misgivings … [and] they’re trying to pretend like nothing big happened and Donald Trump can feel proud that he has consolidated cultish type control and power over the Republican Party,” he continued. “But it’s a scandal and a disgrace for the country.”
In brief remarks to the press following his meetings, Trump touted the “great relationship” he has with Republican lawmakers and vowed that any differences would get “worked out.” The presumptive GOP nominee for president also seemingly mended ties with some of his most vocal critics in the party, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and outgoing Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.
The former president has also propped up Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in recent weeks, even inviting him to give remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Johnson was among a group of GOP lawmakers who attended Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan, which recently ended with a historic conviction.
“All they talked about was politics, how they’re going to try to get more people elected to give Donald Trump more power,” Raskin said, after the panel played a clip from Johnson after the meeting with Trump, where he said the party was “unified” in helping each other win in November.
When asked if the embrace of Trump by Republicans could be a preview of what’s to come if he’s reelected to the White House, Raskin seemed to agree.
“What’s happening in the Republican Party, what’s happening with congressional Republicans: Absolute corruption of their duty,” Raskin replied. “I mean, we swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States not to uphold one guy or one party, or the interests of one billionaire sugar daddy, and yet, that’s what’s taking place now.”
“And yesterday, they bowed down to the gun manufacturers, and gave them exactly what they wanted throwing out the rule of law,” he added, invoking the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to invalidate a ban on bump stocks — a device that when added to firearms can convert semi-automatic weapons to ones capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute.
The ban was put in place by Trump after a gunman used the device to kill five dozen Las Vegas concertgoers in 2017, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The Friday ruling comes as the former president, who was endorsed by the National Rifle Assocation earlier this month, has looked to cast himself as the “best friend” of the Second Amendment and vowed more protections for gun owners if he wins in November.