Conway, South Carolina — Tom Rice, one of the 10 Republicans who voted to blame President Donald J. Trump after the January 6 attack, gave him a comprehensive term for the former president’s crucifixion. Have: Trump’s Very President Traveling Revenge Circus.
Mr. Trump has left Mr. Rice, a fifth-term member of parliament, one of his top priorities in the state primary on Tuesday. He supported Mr. Rice’s seat behind Russell Fry’s parliamentarians in the Republican primary, calling for Mr. Fry’s rally this week, describing him as the Republican acronym “Betrayal RINO.” , A conservative slur.
“He raised his hand and that was the end of his political career, or hope it will,” Trump said of Rice’s impeachment vote.
In a 35-minute interview on Friday, Rice, along with his wife Wrenzie, sounded like a man in a fight for political life after a barbecue lunch campaign event. His campaign does not expect a complete victory over Mr Fly, but instead prepares for a tough final against him.
However, after crossing Mr. Trump, some tried to save his political career by going back to comments and retiring from Congress, but Mr. Rice doubled.
Read more about the January 6 House Committee hearing
“For me, his serious failure-his unforgivable failure-was when it began,” Rice said of the January 6 riots. “He saw it happen. He enjoyed it. And he took no action to stop it. I think he was obliged to stop it. , And he failed that duty. “
Republican professional business conservative and self-proclaimed chamber of commerce, Rice helped Trump create a radical new tax law in 2017.Five years after these reforms, and 17 months after the attack on January 6, he said the former had prolonged the president’s welcome to the Republican Party.
“He’s in the past,” Rice said of Mr. Trump. “I hope he never runs again, and if he runs again, I think he will hurt the Republican Party. I really need someone to connect, and he’s not that guy.”
At a prime-time hearing on January 6th, Thursday night, Rice took up footage of the Capitol riots and testimony from Trump’s close associates, saying, “What we did. I put an exclamation mark on it. ” impeachment.
In the days following the riots at the Capitol, Rice considered voting to impeach Mr. Trump, spending Saturday and Sunday in his parliamentary district, telling staff the president’s whereabouts on January 6th. Day. He was furious when he learned that the president refused to stop the attack. When it was time for his vote, he said he had “zero questions in my mind” as to whether Mr. Trump should be held accountable.
“I did it then,” he said. “And I will do it tomorrow. And I will do it the next day or the next day. I have a duty to keep the Constitution. And that’s what I did.”
Mr Rice did not vote to prove the election, but said he was concerned about the inconsistency in the Pennsylvania ballots outlined in the letter to Republican leaders.
At a Republican parliamentary meeting a month after the Capitol riot, he defended Liz Cheney’s impeachment vote and criticized minority leader Kevin McCarthy for his continued acceptance of the former president.
“Kevin went to Mar-a-Lago this weekend, shook hands, took pictures and launched Trumpmajority.com. Personally, I find it unpleasant,” Rice said at the time.
In the months following the vote, Mr. Rice became a Paria among the people of Mr. Trump’s circle as well as his wife. “I don’t feel like I’m fit for the group anymore,” Rice said on Friday, referring to a Republican base.
Mr. Trump’s efforts to shake the Republican primary and despise Mr. Rice have frustrated and embarrassed lawmakers. He came to see them as political stunts.
“Bring a circus,” he said of Mr. Trump’s involvement in the primary. “As you know, some people are afraid of clowns. I am not afraid of clowns.”
Jonathan Martin Report that contributed.