[ad_1]
One of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial warned on Sunday that the former president’s “harassment” against the party would lead to a midterm election defeat of the year next and beyond.
Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy was speaking days after Republican Ohio Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, announced he would not be running.
Another Republican House critic for Trump on Saturday, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger, posted a impactful video statement in which he told “silent” colleagues about the state of their party that “the time for hiding is over”.
Cassidy told NBC’s Meet the Press, “Politicians are not victims. Politicians make a choice. If we choose to move forward and provide positive solutions to the American people in need, we win. If we choose to be intimidated, we lose.
The two-term senator also appeared to refer to an extraordinary letter Trump sent this week to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding that he rescind the certification of the “illegitimate” presidential election result.
Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia is at the heart of Trump’s big lie that the election was stolen. His previous efforts to overturn the result are under criminal investigation.
“The larger question, frankly, do Republicans continue to question 2020, or are we waiting with a positive agenda? said Cassidy.
“If we reread 2020 over and over again it won’t change the outcome in 2020 but we are sure to lose in 2024. On the other hand, if we have a positive program, which takes into account that the Biden administration is in disarray, be it inflation, the border, Afghanistan, then the country will win and we will win.
“But if we choose to be intimidated, we will lose.”
Trump’s allies have said they expect him to run for the White House again. A Senate vote to convict him after his second impeachment would have disqualified the former president from running again. This elicited a fierce backlash from members of his own party and from Trump himself. But the Louisiana senator is not reelected until 2026.
Others who have spoken have felt the anger of Trump and his cronies, including Liz Cheney, the Wyoming congresswoman ousted as Republican No.3 in the House after voting for impeachment, and Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a 37-year-old former NFL player, said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. But he acknowledged that “the toxic dynamic within our own party” was also an important factor.
In an interview with the New York Times, Gonzalez said Trump was “a cancer to our country” that he didn’t believe could be president again. He also rejected Trump’s inevitable “good riddance” response, expressed in a statement Friday.
“I don’t care what he says or thinks since Jan. 6, on the outside when he continues to lie about the election, which is a problem for me,” Gonzalez said.
Cassidy wouldn’t question whether Gonzalez’s departure was good or bad for the party.
“Anthony chooses his personal priorities. You read his statement, it is self-sufficient, ”he said. But he stressed that the GOP urgently needs new leadership.
“We respond to voters. And so if we don’t respond to voters in a positive way, we lose, ”he said. “If all you do is talk about the past, you’re yesterday’s news.”
[ad_2]
Source link