Iowa Republicans decry President's 'poor leadership,' but Democrats say it's not enough

Iowa's top elected Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to take responsibility for the riots that occurred at the U.S. Capitol this week, prompting criticism from Democrats who say those same Republicans enabled and amplified the president's divisive rhetoric throughout his time in office.

“Everyone must take responsibility for their destructive actions yesterday, including the president," U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement Thursday. "As the leader of the nation, the president bears some responsibility for the actions that he inspires — good or bad. Sadly, yesterday he displayed poor leadership in his words and actions, and he must take responsibility.”

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, also said in a statement that the president bears some responsibility for the ransacking of the Capitol and the lives that were lost.

"The president did not display good leadership, and I do think he bears some responsibility for what happened," she said. "The responsibility also lies with the violent mob who stormed the Capitol, and they should be held accountable to the full extent of the law. It’s time everyone tone down the rhetoric, and we work to bring our nation together.”

Both Ernst and Grassley have been avid supporters of the president's and often appeared with him at campaign events across the state. Though they have at times criticized his rhetoric, they've fully embraced his leadership.

Iowa's 1st District U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has also supported Trump, also criticized the outgoing president's response to Wednesday's violence.

"Words matter and rhetoric matters and we saw that really firsthand at the Capitol this week," she said. "And I was disappointed in how the president handled the situation."

Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, on Thursday said "there are questions" about improprieties in the election, even as she condemned the violence at the Capitol and said it was time to dial down the rhetoric.

'They should disavow his lies'

State Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville, said Republicans need to convince their supporters that President-elect Joe Biden fairly won the election and to stop raising doubts about the election by "spreading the lie of voter fraud."

"If Iowa Republicans want to distance themselves from the shocking acts of Mr. Trump’s violent supporters they should disavow Mr. Trump, they should disavow his lies about a stolen election and they should apologize for the part that they played in his rise to power," Wahls said.

The day began at a rally where Trump urged his supporters to march to the Capitol as lawmakers debated whether to accept the Electoral College results of the presidential election. A number of his Republican allies in Congress planned to challenge the results in key swing states that showed Biden as the winner, raising unsubstantiated claims of fraud. 

But Trump's supporters did not stop outside the building. Instead, they climbed through broken windows and forced their way through security to overtake the building, halt debate and vandalize the halls of the Capitol. 

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Trump eventually tweeted a video in which he called on the rioters to "go home" while continuing to feed the false notion that the election was stolen.

"I know your pain. I know your hurt," he said in the video. "We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order."

Though the insurrection halted Congressional proceedings for several hours as Capitol police worked to clear and secure the building, lawmakers returned Wednesday night to continue their work and affirm the Electoral College votes showing Biden won the election.

Each member of Iowa's congressional delegation voted against the challenges, choosing to accept the state-certified Electoral College results.

Wahls said he was glad to see Iowa's Republicans vote against the challenges.

"However, the refusal to grapple with the role the Republican Party played in Mr. Trump’s rise to power means that they’re only talking about the symptom and not the actual disease, which is a party that was absolutely willing to nominate Mr. Trump, who from the beginning of his presidential campaign demonstrated that he has no respect for the Democratic norms of this country," Wahls said.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, a Republican who represents Iowa's 4th District, has condemned the violence. But he told KCRG-TV that the initial protests were "a wonderful group" that was peacefully protesting.

"We live in this free country that we have freedoms and liberties, freedom of speech specifically. And this group got carried away and it's just sad. It's a very sad day for our country," he said.

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican who represents the 2nd District, denounced the violence but told the Quad-City Times, "I think there is plenty of blame to go around to all of us."

Wahls said those condemnations were not enough.

"I think Randy Feenstra called that a wonderful group of people. I believe Rep. Miller-Meeks said that there’s lots of blame to go around. I think the blame is with the president and the party that enabled his rise to power," he said.

U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, Iowa's lone Democrat in Congress, said Friday she will support impeaching Trump for violating his oath of office by "willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States."

"I do not make this decision lightly, but President Trump has the blood of five Americans — including one Capitol Police officer — on his hands," Axne said in a statement, referring to those killed during the mob violence. "On Sunday, I swore to uphold the Constitution and protect our nation from enemies foreign and domestic. A President who incites an attack on the seat of our government is a threat that cannot be tolerated for even one more day."

More:Iowa U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne will support impeaching Trump again

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.