COLOMBIA, SC (AP) – US Congressman Tom Rice, who hid in an office while protesters stormed the United States Capitol last week, acknowledged on Thursday that his vote for President Donald Trump’s impeachment could cost him the re-election as a conservative Republican, but said that Trump did not calm the crowd left him no other choice.
Rice represents a South Carolina district fiercely loyal to Trump. However, on Wednesday night, the congressman became one of only 10 Republicans to join the Democrats in the vote to impeach the president, in an impressive turnaround. from your position days before.
The rare Republican votes to make Trump just the first president to be impeached twice have generated outbursts of anger and calls to state Republicans who have made it clear that Trump’s separation could have a high political price.
Interviewed by the Associated Press, Rice said he finally came to the conclusion that what he characterized as Trump’s inaction during last week’s riot at the United States Capitol gave him only one clear path to follow: impeachment.
Huddled in another congressman’s office while Trump loyalists invaded the Capitol, Rice said he watched television coverage and, assuming the president was seeing the same violent images, wondered why Trump did not come to the nation to ask for calm and beg your supporters to stop.
“I can’t imagine another president in my life who hadn’t tried to intervene there, hadn’t tried to say, ‘Hey, this needs to stop and you need to go home,” “Rice told the AP.
“For him to sit there and watch TV, and watch these policemen being beaten, and the Capitol being invaded, and not being too aggressive about … going out and trying to talk to these people alone, it’s beyond my imagination.”
A few hours earlier that day, Trump had called, at a rally in Washington, for the same supporters to “fight like hell” against Democratic Joe Biden’s certification of presidential victory.
On Wednesday, Rice joined the Democrats to support the impeachment, which was passed by the US House of Representatives..
Some initially thought that the vote of the once staunch Trump supporter may have been a mistake, a misfire to be corrected while the vote remained open.
But, said Rice, his vote for impeachment was very intentional.
“I was with this president in good times and bad. I supported him in the campaign. I supported him in the vote, ”said Rice. “It hurts my heart.”
Among the lesser-known members of the South Carolina delegation, Rice has always been a trusted supporter of the president, campaigning with him and, according to FiveThirtyEight, voting 94% of the time in favor of Trump-backed legislation – the highest percentage among the current South Carolina delegation.
In his only primary since he was first elected in 2012, Rice won 84% of the vote. He was re-elected each time with at least 56% of the votes cast.
Some say that Rice’s decision on Wednesday may again haunt him against a field of primary opponents in 2022, when he plans to run for a sixth term. Rice represents the 7th district of South Carolina, an area that includes Myrtle Beach, which voted strongly for Trump.
Walter Whetsell, Rice’s longtime political adviser, said he expected Rice to oppose in the primaries based on Wednesday’s historic vote, but noted that it would be difficult for anyone to say he would be a candidate more in line with Trump’s policies than than Rice.
“It’s a remarkably high hurdle to make that argument, when you have, in Tom Rice, a guy who supported Donald Trump 94% of the time,” said Whetsell.
Part of this setback seems to have already started. In Horry County, South Carolina, Republican Party President Dreama Perdue said her phone has rang almost constantly since Rice’s vote, with angry voters expressing their frustration at what many have characterized as betrayal.
“We were all surprised by this,” said Perdue, adding that she had to hang up the phone while some callers complained so she could do chores around the house, like taking out the trash. “There are some who, as soon as I reply, are just screaming and screaming.”
State Republican Party President Drew McKissick said he was “deeply disappointed” with Rice. And Matt Moore, McKissick’s predecessor, said he initially assumed that Rice was planning to retire, given the possible electoral ramifications.
“My first reaction was, wow, Tom Rice is not going to run again,” said Moore, citing Trump’s high support base in the Rice district.
On Thursday, however, Rice said he knew he was likely to face a difficult primary and that the impeachment vote could cost him his seat. “If that happens, it’s true,” said Rice.
When asked by the AP about his final remarks in an interview, he paused and said, “You tell my constituents that I love them and that it is the honor of my life to do this job.” He added: “I tried to do my best to do the right thing and represent their interests, but if they decide it’s time for me to go home, that’s fine too.”
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Meg Kinnard can be contacted at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.