Rick Scott says ‘democracy prevailed’ in wake of last year’s Capitol riots

Approaching the one year anniversary of the Capitol riots, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott offered an upbeat message of national renewal as a takeaway from Jan. 6, 2021.

“Democracy prevailed,” Scott said Tuesday on the Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio.

“It was disgusting that people thought they could walk into this, break into this Capitol. They need to be prosecuted, which they are,” Scott added. “I’m disgusted that people did that, but guess what? We went through the constitutional process. And we followed through. And we elected a new President.”

Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was one of those legislators who questioned the ballots from one state now-President Joe Biden won over former President Donald Trump.

He voted against Pennsylvania electors’ certification even after mobs besieged the Capitol to compel that very result, but quickly enough reconciled with reality, urging Trump to attend Biden’s swearing in.

Despite being willing to accept Biden’s installation as President after the election was certified, Scott continued to defend his vote in select forums.

“People don’t follow the law, investigate afterwards, and nothing happens,” Scott said last January, also on the Guy Benson Show. “In Pennsylvania, they did not follow their laws. That’s wrong and I am very comfortable with what I did.”

Scott ameliorated his language in Newsweek: “My vote objecting to Pennsylvania’s process wasn’t about the 2020 election. It would not have changed the outcome. My vote was about elections to come, in 2022, 2024 and beyond, and seeing that they are conducted fairly.”

The Senator steered clear of blaming Trump for the “disgusting” behavior of supporters, continuing a soft treatment of the former President on the subject.

When asked last year if Trump could have stopped what happened that fateful day, Scott was unwilling to assign blame. He said that while “the President could have responded faster,” it was “irresponsible for people on the left to say the President told people to break into the Capitol, which he did not.”