In a short press briefing that ran less than two minutes, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany condemned the armed insurrection at the US Capitol "in the strongest possible terms".
Speaking "on behalf of the entire White House", she called the violence "appalling, reprehensible and antithetical to the American way".
McEnany left the briefing room without taking any questions.
President Trump has not been seen in public today and his social media accounts remain suspended.
Washington DC's top prosecutor has not ruled out the possibility that the president himself could be investigated over the Capitol riot.
The president had urged his supporters at a rally outside the White House to march on Congress, while pushing unfounded claims of electoral fraud. As events spiralled out of control, he tweeted urging them to "remain peaceful".
Today, the Senate's top Democrat joined voices calling for Trump's presidential powers to be removed immediately after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday.
Under the 25th Amendment, the vice-president can become acting president when a president is unable to continue his duties, if for example, he or she becomes incapacitated due to a physical or mental illness.
The part of the amendment being discussed is section four, which allows the vice-president and a majority of the cabinet to declare President Trump unable to perform his duties.
The last time government buildings were breached in Washington was in 1814 and the invaders were British soldiers.
But in 2021 a Trump supporter, carrying the Confederate flag, is walking freely through the halls near the entrance to the Senate, encountering little resistance.
Congressional Democrats and some Republicans on Wednesday accused President Trump of inciting a coup after an angry mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, interrupted the proceedings to cement President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and triggered an evacuation of lawmakers.
a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
"he was overthrown in an army coup"
an instance of successfully achieving something difficult.
"it was a major coup to get such a prestigious contract"
insurrection (noun) · insurrections (plural noun)
a violent uprising against an authority or government.
"the insurrection was savagely put down" · "opposition to the new regime led to armed insurrection"
antithetical (adjective)
directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible.
"people whose religious beliefs are antithetical to mine"
synonyms:
(directly) opposed to ·
contrary to ·
contradictory to ·
conflicting with ·
incompatible with ·
irreconcilable with ·
inconsistent with ·
at variance with ·
at odds with ·
contrasting with ·
different from/to ·
differing from ·
divergent from ·
unlike ·
opposing ·
poles apart ·
polar ·
obverse ·
oppugnant connected with, containing, or using the rhetorical device of antithesis.
"when praising the government, Pyrocles invokes the familiar oxymoronic and antithetical mode"
reprehensible (adjective)
deserving censure or condemnation.
"his complacency and reprehensible laxity"
causing shock or dismay; horrific.
"the cat suffered appalling injuries during the attack"
