Republican Representative Tom Rice, S.C., is one of 10 Republican representatives who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.
The S.C. congressman said Trump deserved to be impeached for endangering former Vice President Mike Pence and his family at the Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot. “I did it then,” Rice said in an interview with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that aired Sunday on “This Week.” “And I would do it again tomorrow.”
Yet, Rice said he would consider supporting former Trump in a 2024 presidential bid if the former president apologized for his role in the January 6 riot. According to a Breitbart News report, Rice said: “If he came out and said, ‘I’m sorry that I made a huge mistake on January 6.’ Then I might consider it.”
“When he watched the Capitol, the ‘People’s House,’ being sacked, when he watched the Capitol Police officers being beaten for three or four hours and lifted not one finger to stop it — I was livid then and I’m livid today about it,” the congressman declared. “And it was very clear to me I took an oath to protect the Constitution.”
The Democratic primary for Rice’s seat is a six-way race, and he is not supported by Trump that may cost him his constituency in the heart of Trump country.
“Right here, in the 7th district, Tom Rice, a disaster,” Trump said at a March rally in S.C. “He’s respected by no one, he’s laughed at in Washington.”
“If I am a ‘disaster,’ and a ‘total fool’ and I voted with him 169 times out of 184, what does that make him?” he said to Karl. “I was following his lead.”
Any veteran knows, though, that one “aw-shucks” wipes out 10,000 “attaboys,” and Trump does not tolerate even the slightest sign of disloyalty.
“He’s a narcissist, and he’s driven by attention,” Rice told Karl, “and he’s driven by revenge.”
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