'Clear And Present Danger' Inslee Calls For Trump's Removal

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has joined the growing number of American politicians calling for the immediate removal of President Donald Trump from office.

"I do not believe the United States can abide that clear and present danger, even for another 13 days," the governor said Thursday. "[Trump] needs to step down, he needs to be removed. If that's through the 25th amendment or impeachment, but by any legal means necessary."

Inslee remarks followed a day of chaos and death at Washington D.C., when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building. At least 4 people died, and 69 have been arrested.

Political leaders, including Inslee, say Trump is culpable.

"It was not a protest, it was an insurrection," Inslee said. "We need to go to the heart of the insurrection and remove that cancer, and that means the President of the United States."

The insurrection took place just as Congress had begun the process of formalizing President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. The attackers repeated many of the false claims made by President Trump, claiming that he had won the election and that the vote had somehow been stolen.

"The violence that we saw yesterday had a clear cause, and that was the deception of Donald Trump," Inslee said.

Trump's myriad attempts to overturn the election were unprecedented, but critics say his actions Wednesday went beyond the pale: the President addressed protesters shortly before they stormed the building, and when called upon to demand they step down he did, but with a video message that repeatedly thanked the insurrectionists, calling them "special" and telling them "we love you."

While the riot stormed the capitol in D.C., dozens of protesters in Olympia followed suit, breaching the gates and entering the grounds of the governor's mansion. No one was harmed and protesters were escorted off the property by state patrol shortly afterwards. Inslee only briefly mentioned the incident saying that, like the mob that attacked the capitol, the protesters in Olympia had been misled about the election by Trump.

"It has been the President of the United States who has continued to try and convince, every chance he gets, that this election was stolen when in fact it was won," Inslee said. "This election was won by Joseph Biden, and lost by Donald Trump."

Inslee joins a growing number of politicians across the country demanding that Trump be ousted for his role in encouraging the violence.

"The last time this happened was when the British attacked, and to see the confederate flag in the U.S. capitol was so horrendous, beyond imagination," Inslee said.

Several other Washington politicians have signaled that they support invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Derek Kilmer and Sen. Patty Murray.

Related: 'Dangerous And Terrifying': Washington Reacts to Chaos In D.C.

Inslee capped off his speech Thursday addressing Trump's enablers within the Republican Party.

"I want to encourage the Republican Party to do some serious soul-searching this morning," Inslee said. "It is time for Republican leaders to stop pandering to the falsehoods of the President.

"While it's a nice gesture for some of the Republican leadership to say they're against this violence, that's appreciated, but they need to do much more than that," Inslee said. "They need to strike against the dark heart of the deception that is causing this tumult, turmoil, and actual loss of life, and that's this concept that we didn't have an election."

Inslee did note that not all Republicans have enabled Trump's attempt at overruling the election, specifically citing Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who has repeatedly rebuked claims of election tampering, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, the only Republican senator from Washington who did not sign on to Texas' lawsuit to overturn the election results.

"We're looking forward to more leadership from the Republican Party. They need to make a decision whether they are the party of Trump and deception or the party of democracy, and they need to do that today," Inslee said.