Watch: Rep. Jim McGovern blasts GOP’s Jim Jordan for ‘giving oxygen’ to conspiracy theories that fueled mob attack on Capitol
"Will you admit that Joe Biden won fair and square and that the election was not rigged or stolen?”
Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern blasted Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Tuesday for “giving oxygen” to President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud and conspiracy theories, pressing the GOP lawmaker in a contentious exchange to state unequivocally that Joe Biden “won the election fair and square” and “the election was not rigged or stolen.”The testy back-and-forth came during a meeting of the House Rules Committee focused on an impeachment resolution the House will begin debating Wednesday. The article of impeachment charges Trump with “incitement of an insurrection,” related to the deadly assault on the Capitol last Wednesday that left five people dead. “I saw this mob trying to break glass doors to get access to the floor and God knows what else,” McGovern, the committee chair, said during the meeting. “They defied the Capitol police that were bravely trying to protect us, and I saw in their eyes hate and evil. And I am just grateful that more people weren’t harmed in this terrible attack. But they came here to destroy things, to desecrate things, and they did so because the president of the United States told them to go do it. At his urging, they came to the Capitol.”McGovern told Jordan what is needed for healing is truth and accountability. “Our job as elected officials is to tell the truth,” he said. “So my question for you is, will you admit that Joe Biden won fair and square and that the election was not rigged or stolen?”Jordan refused to directly answer the Massachusetts congressman’s question, despite repeated entreaties to do so. “He won the election because the way the process works is the last chance to object is January 6 and the objection didn’t prevail,” Jordan said. Watch the full exchange below:
Full exchange between Rep. McGovern and Rep. Jordan.
.@RepMcGovern: “Will you admit that Joe Biden won fair and square and the election was not rigged or stolen?”@Jim_Jordan: “He won the election…Joe Biden is going to be sworn in as president.” pic.twitter.com/RmEb96DiVv
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 12, 2021
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