Tom Rice of South Carolina was one of 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Now that Rice is fighting a tough battle for his political life in the heart of Trump’s country, he faces that choice – calling it the “conservative vote” in an interview with ABC News Washington correspondent Jonathan Carl on Sunday. . “
“I did it then. And I would do it again tomorrow, “Rice said.
Rice said Trump deserves impeachment because he potentially threatened former Vice President Mike Pence and his family in the Capitol and did not act more quickly to stop the deadly riot that took place last year.
“When he watched the Capitol dismissal, the People’s House, when he watched the Capitol police fight for three or four hours and didn’t pick up anything to stop it, I was furious and I was furious about it today,” Rice recalled. “It was very clear to me that I took an oath to keep the Constitution.
Representative Tom Rice spoke with John Carl.
ABC News
Trump has vowed to retaliate against Rice by backing one of his six main opponents and holding a rally in his area in March.
“Right here in District 7, Tom Rice, disaster,” Trump told the boo. “He’s not respected by anyone, he laughs in Washington.”
A soft accountant and tax attorney who helped draft the 2017 Republican Tax Act that Trump signed, Rice says he voted overwhelmingly in favor of Trump’s agenda in Congress.
“If I’m a ‘disaster’ and a ‘complete fool’ and I’ve voted with him 169 out of 184, what does that do?” He told Carl. – I followed his example.
“He’s a narcissist and he’s driven by attention and he’s driven by revenge,” Rice told Trump.
He also warned his party not to unite around the former president if Trump seeks the Oval Office again, as Trump has often hinted.
“I think it will hurt us,” Rice said. “They will paint us more in the corner of extremism, they will try to stick us like extremists. And he will feed that. “
Rice has criticized Republicans, including Republican Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California, for quickly embracing Trump in the weeks since the Capitol attack.
He declined to say whether McCarthy should be a spokesman if Republicans return to the House in November.
“I’m not going to answer that right now,” he told ABC’s Karl. “We’ll see what happens.”
Representative Tom Rice spoke with John Carl.
ABC News
Rice praised MP Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Who also voted to impeach Trump and now served as deputy chairman of the committee on Jan. 6, calling her a “true Republican.” Like Rice, Cheney has angered Trump by criticizing him and battling his own major challenge.
“She would be a great speaker,” Rice said. “She’s very conservative and I think she’s a fearless leader.”
But before November, Rice must defend her seat in Congress on June 14, when she will face six other candidates – including Trump-backed Russell Fry – for the Republican nomination.
The crowded field makes it unlikely that any of the candidates will win more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a run-off later this month among the top two graduates, Jerry Rovner, chairman of the Republican Party in the Rice area, told ABC News.
Rowner, who is officially neutral in the primary but critical of Rice’s impeachment stance, said Rice’s vote could be a “big problem with many voters” given Trump’s popularity in the area.
“He can vote 800 times more than them [want him to] vote, but the only thing he voted for that provoked the press, they were very upset, “Rovner told Rice. “And it really comes down to.”
Rice’s balancing act was on display at a recent forum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where some voters who had previously backed him left when he defended his impeachment vote.
“He’s a traitor and I just don’t trust him,” Line Vale told ABC News. “If you can’t support your party, he won’t support you or me.”
Billy Zeugolis, a Myrtle Beach businessman and undecided voter, said he also disagreed with Rice’s impeachment vote.
“Trump is our man right now,” he told ABC News. “I do not like his personality, but his policy is right on the money. His values are in line with mine. ”
Rice hopes to persuade enough voters to ignore his position on Trump’s impeachment, even if they disagree. He can also take advantage of the state’s open primary elections, which allow Democrats and independents to vote in the Republican race.
Even if he loses, Rice is “absolutely” not sorry, he said.
“You know, like your obituary, the first sentence will be Tom Rice, who was a Republican member of Congress who voted to impeach Donald Trump,” Carl told him.
“So be it,” he said. “I will wear it as a badge. So be it.”
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