North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is among a handful of Republicans criticizing former president Donald Trump’s recent comments calling those convicted of crimes in the January 6th attacks on the Capitol patriots. CNN asked Tillis about the statements made during Trump’s campaign stops.
"I was the last senate member out of the chamber on January the sixth. I saw Capitol police officers bleeding, bruised and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting," Thills said. "To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon."
Trump has opened recent rallies with a national anthem sung by incarcerated Jan. 6 rioters and has called the convicts political prisoners.
Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also recently been critical of Trump’s comments as he runs for president.
