https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-non-vindication-11613342554

While short of the 67 votes needed to convict, most Republicans didn’t
defend Mr. Trump’s words or actions on Jan. 6 or his attempts to
overturn the election. As we’ve written before, Mr. Trump’s behavior
was inexcusable and will mar his legacy for all time.

That was the essence of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s post-trial remarks. The
GOP leader voted against conviction but explicitly because he said the
Constitution reserves the impeachment power only for Presidents while
in office. Scholars disagree on this point, and there are good
arguments on both sides. Mr. McConnell leaned on the writing of the
19th-century Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. But he also noted
that impeaching a private citizen had no “limiting principle,” and
could set a dangerous precedent.
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Mr. McConnell was lacerating in his criticism of Mr. Trump’s words and
actions, which he blamed for deceiving and motivating supporters who
had assembled on Jan. 6 at the President’s urging and became a mob.
“Former President Trump’s actions that preceded the riot were a
disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty,” Mr. McConnell said.
“There’s no question—none—that President Trump is practically and
morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”

He added that the rioters had been “fed wild falsehoods by the most
powerful man on Earth–because he was angry he’d lost an election.”

All of this was compounded by Mr. Trump’s failure to act with dispatch
to call off the rioters once he heard what was happening.