Updated at 3:26 p.m.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker opened his regular COVID-19 briefing Thursday with a scathing denunciation of President Donald Trump and his role in the mayhem that erupted in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, when pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden's election win.

"Yesterday's events were appalling, disgraceful and depressing," Baker said. "But it's important to remember that they were the culmination of President Trump repeating, over and over again, that the American electoral system is a fraud.

"For four years, a man who won three states in 2016 by less than a combined total of 78,000 votes ... has repeatedly questioned the validity of the American electoral process," Baker continued. "As recently as September, he would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power, one of the most fundamental hallmarks of American democracy, if he lost the election. Since the election, he's routinely referred to it as a fraud and a fake."

Against that backdrop, Baker added, Trump then left the capitol "nearly defenseless" as Congress gathered to certify Biden's win — and made "disgraceful" comments during and after attack.

"During the violence that sometimes accompanied peaceful protests concerning police brutality last summer, the president was the first to call out local and state officials for not doing enough to protect their residents and demanded that every agitator be arrested and prosecuted — and yesterday, he thanked the mob for their support," Baker said. "The whole thing makes me sick."

While Baker was unequivocal in condemning yesterday's chaos and blaming it directly on Trump, he also suggested that there's a broader dysfunction ailing Washington, D.C., and that politics as practiced in Massachusetts could provide a valuable corrective.

"I despise much of what our politics, often amplified by social-media platforms, has become," Baker said. "Too many people in public life now associate disagreements with character flaws and use that message to engage and enrage their supporters. This has to stop. Disagreements are just that: disagreements.

"The lieutenant governor and I work with our colleagues on many issues that are difficult and emotional," he continued. "There are many disagreements. But we stick to the issues, we don't name call. And more often than not, we get something done without the kind of vitriol that constantly spills forth from the halls of Washington."

Baker did not directly answer when asked if Trump should be removed from office before the end of his term, as many Democrats and some Republican have suggested, but suggested he was open to the idea.

"I think that the most important thing we need to do at this point in time is recognize that there's a transition to a new administration that's going take place 14 days from now, and that Vice President (Mike) Pence should be empowered to do that. Whatever the mechanism is for doing that I leave up to the people in Washington."

A moment later, asked about the possible use of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, Baker said: "It's fourteen days, okay? I think people should pursue whatever they believe will make it possible, in the most expeditious way possible, for the president to step down and the vice president to assume the powers of the office for the next 14 days so that an orderly transition can take place."

Despite his denunciation of Trump, though, Baker defended his decision not to cast a vote for either Biden or Trump when a reporter asked if he now regrets it.

"I made the decision that basically said I wasn't particularly pleased with either choice, and I was perfectly comfortable with that," Baker said. "And a lot of other people told me that was a pretty good move, as far as they were concerned, because they felt the same way."

Also on Thursday, the Baker administration announced the extension of restrictions introduced in late December to fight the spread of COVID-19, including capping indoor and outdoor gatherings at 10 and 25 people, respectively. They will remain in place until at least Jan. 24.

The administration also announced that hospitals are ramping up their communication and collaboration as cases surge, and that mandated nurse-staffing levels we be waived for hospitals with severe capacity restraints.