Boehner: Trump’s claims of stolen election a ‘sad moment in American history’

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that former President Trump’s false election fraud claims and the Capitol riot were a “sad moment in American history.”

“The president abused the loyalty and trust of the people who voted for him by spewing that nonsense without ever putting any facts out there,” Boehner said on MSNBC.

“Frankly, it incited a lot of people to show up in Washington on January 6th under false pretenses. It was a sad moment in American history,” Boehner added.

Trump claimed for months that the election was stolen from him and called people to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 for a “Stop the Steal” rally.

After the rally, a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, interrupting the certification of the Electoral College results by Congress. Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer. Numerous videos showed police officers being beaten by members of the crowd, which also vandalized the Capitol.

Boehner told Time magazine he didn’t comment on Trump’s election fraud claims leading up to Jan. 6 because he is retired and he didn’t want to get in the “day-to-day rumble of politics.”

Boehner is promoting a book and has repeatedly ripped the former president in interviews, at one point saying Trump is “unemployed” and has “nothing else to do but cause trouble.”

Although Boehner declined to comment on the behavior of some Republicans in office who continue to believe the election was stolen, his book is critical of Tea Party conservatives and GOP figures such as Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).

“Ted Cruz: There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless ass—- who thinks he is smarter than everyone else,” Boehner wrote in his book.

Bohner’s book “On The House” was released on April 13.