"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday that people cannot compare the riots that occurred for most of the year across the United States in 2020 to the January 6 Capitol riot because taco stands are not as important as the Capitol building.
"We need to make sure that the center of American democracy is never, never as compromised as it was on January the 6th. I know there are idiots on other cable news channels that will say, well, this mom-and-pop store was vandalized during the summer riots and that’s just as bad as the United States Capitol being vandalized.' No. No, actually no, jackasses, it’s not. The Capitol of the United States is the center of American democracy," Scarborough said.
"And while I am a fierce believer in people’s right to defend their private property, I’m not going to confuse a taco stand with the United States Capitol," he continued. "I’m not going to confuse the selling of tacos with actually moving through a constitutional process that is laid out in the United States Constitution for members of the House and the Senate to actually perform their constitutional duties. No. No, no, no. Property damage does not equal insurrection."
When his comments were posted on Twitter and received pushback, Scarborough defended his comments on his account.
Do you think it is the same?
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2021
Are you too stupid to understand the destruction of personal property is abhorrent, and at the same time realize that a terrorist attack against the US Capitol is a greater threat to America? Is arson against a warehouse the same as 9/11? https://t.co/nlNxhEfZHH
No jackass. It was a furniture store. And the freaks who burned it down should rot in jail until they pay him back. https://t.co/ICG3c2JoWv
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2021
The riots that happened in 2020 cost over $1 billion in damage, with hundreds of police officers across the country being injured and livelihoods lost at a time where economic woes are at an all-time high due to COVID-19 restrictions.
