Ringside Politics – January 13, 2021

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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) President Trump said Tuesday he believes the 25th Amendment poses “zero risk” to him but suggested it could be applied to President-elect Joe Biden, with the president shrugging off the possibility of being removed from office after he incited supporters to storm the Capitol last week.

“Free speech is under assault like never before. The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration. As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for,” Trump said at the start of prepared remarks near the southern border in Alamo, Texas.

2) Vice President Mike Pence rejected a push from Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment to oust President Trump over his role in the Capitol riot, setting in motion a House vote Wednesday to impeach the president during his final week in office, this time with the support of some Republicans.

Mr. Pence in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) late Tuesday said invoking the amendment would set a “terrible precedent” and that Democrats’ efforts amounted to political games. He also urged lawmakers to “avoid taking actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment.”

The president, in his first public appearance since the riot last week, said he did nothing wrong and had no regrets about his remarks to supporters in which he urged them to march on Congress. He called the efforts to remove him from office over his actions a continuation of what he has termed a Democratic witch hunt.

3) An Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns made his first court appearance Monday.

A judge scheduled a detention hearing Friday for Jake Chansley, who has been jailed on misdemeanor charges since surrendering to authorities over the weekend in Phoenix. He took part in the hearing by phone from a detention facility.

The FBI identified Chansley from images taken during the riot showing his distinctive sleeve tattoos. Chansley was inside the Capitol and on the Senate dais as he carried a U.S. flag on a pole topped with a spear.

He hasn’t yet entered a plea on charges of entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

4) On Tuesday, President Donald Trump made his first appearance since the unrest in our nation’s Capitol last week.

He visited the Rio Grande Valley, in part to tout the progress of the border wall he’s been campaigning on for years.

“I kept my promises. And today we celebrate an extraordinary milestone the completion of the promised 450 miles of border wall,” Trump said Tuesday from a section of the wall in Alamo, just outside McAllen.

Today’s Guest:

1) Tommy Waller, Director of Infrastructure Security: Center for Security Policy – Joins the show to talk about last week’s events and their impact on this week’s (and the next!) events.

2) Barbee Kinnison, Author of Monumental Encounter – joins the show to discuss her novel.