Jul 28, 2021 - Politics & Policy

GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde defends comparison of Jan. 6 riot to "tourists"

Kierra Frazier

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) defended comments made during a House committee hearing in which he compared the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot to a "normal visit."

The big picture: In a heated back-and-forth during a Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who sits on the select committee investigating the attack, pressed Clyde on whether he had watched the officers' testimony earlier in the day.

Clyde said that question was “absolutely irrelevant” to the matter in front of the Rules Committee.
When asked about his comparison of the Jan. 6 attack to a "normal tourist visit," Clyde said, "I stand by that exact statement as I said it."

What they're saying: “We are here to discuss this amendment … and you are obviously not interested in that. You want to make this another Jan. 6 hearing, and it’s not. This is the rules committee.” Clyde said

"He refuses to say whether or not he heard the Capitol officers who risked their lives and have experienced traumatic medical injuries," Raskin said. "That’s his prerogative."

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GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde defends comparison of Jan. 6 riot to "tourists"

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