Tim Allen Questions Donald Trump's Inaction While Calling Capitol Riot 'Horrible, Embarrassing, and Shameful'

Tim Allen, one of President Donald Trump's biggest remaining celebrity supporters, condemned the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and Trump's response. Entertainment Weekly interviewed Allen on Tuesday, and he called the riot "horrible, embarrassing and shameful." While Allen was ready to criticize the president for the attack, he did not like the idea of all conservatives being blamed.

Like so many other critics, Allen criticized Trump for inciting the attack with his conspiracy theories and for failing to respond appropriately in the moment. The Last Man Standing star said: "Why didn't the powers-that-be go [to the Capitol]? When I was watching that, I felt that the president should have been a stand-up guy and go there with his security and say, 'Hey, come on. No, no, no, no.' Maybe they don't allow that."

Investigations are now underway to get to the bottom of the slow and ineffectual law enforcement response to the Capitol Riot, which allowed the attackers to break in and escape unimpeded. Allen thought that Trump had every opportunity to stop the mob in its tracks one way or another.

"He could do whatever he wanted. Go there yourself. Say, 'Come on out, people… I never said any of this. That was not in that speech. I never said, Go storm the Capitol,' or whatever," he said. Allen also joined the many commentators wondering how the rioters got past all the security measures in place without some inside help.

"I've been there before and it's impossible to get in that building," he said. "I couldn't get in, and I had credentials. They wouldn't let us in. So who opened the door? I got to believe that people at the back [of the crowd] didn't know that they had broken the door. They were going, 'Oh look, they're letting us in.' There were 120,000 people outside that had no idea this was going on. [Ashli E. Babbitt] who was shot was not a radical, she was an Air Force veteran. Why was she shot? It's so sad anybody got hurt over this."

Allen then broke away from Trump's rhetoric hard by saying that the solution to many of these problems is an increased reverence for journalists. He said: "Let's bring journalism back. I want the guys with the pencil behind their ear and go out and get the story. I miss reporters that were annoying and just asked questions, asked questions, asked questions — not [gave] their opinion. Go look at local news. If they say there's a fire in Burbank, that's news. The reporter is not telling you, 'It's a remarkable fire caused by stupid people of this [political] party.'"

Still, Allen complained that it is not fair to blame all conservatives for this riot, even if they have supported Trump through his countless controversies. He feared that this scandal would drive conservatives "in the closet," saying: "If you were just on the other side of the [political] fence, you're in the closet now because of how shamefully that was handled."

"It's an embarrassment for anybody who just didn't like [the Democratic Party]. So there's nothing to say. It would be a great thing to see [President-elect Joe Biden] — and everybody wants him to do well — say, 'That was a stupid thing, let's move on, don't keep harping on it.' But I don't think that's going to happen."
Allen is wrapping up his final season of Last Man Standing on Thursday nights on Fox. His new series, Assembly Required, premieres soon on History.