'He was political roadkill': GOP senators marvel at Trump 'like a zombie coming back from the dead'

24 December 2023

Republican senators critical of Donald Trump insist they do not regret voting to acquit the former president during his second impeachment trial even as he consolidates power among the party in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

Two Republican senators interviewed anonymously by the Hill dispelled recent comments made by former House Speaker Paul Ryan. In those remarks, Ryan insisted “there are a lot of people in Congress, good friends of mine, who would take [their] vote back” because after Jan. 6 “they thought Trump was dead.”

Per the Hill:

One Republican senator who frequently criticizes Trump’s conduct but nevertheless voted to acquit Trump of inciting insurrection said they would have voted the same way if given a second chance after knowing the outcome.

“The way I look at it is the standard is high because you’re undermining the will of the American people,” the senator said of Trump’s post-Jan. 6 impeachment trial. “If you can’t meet that threshold, it’s inappropriate to convict for the purposes for keeping out of office.”

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A second anonymous senator who is described as being “often critical of Trump” surmised that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

would have still voted to acquit Trump even if he knew the former president “would come back to dominate the 2024 GOP presidential primary.”

“I think he would have made the calculated decision that he would not have been able to be leader of the caucus after that," the anonymous senator said. "He would have been deciding to be a senior committeeman for the next six years."

Meanwhile, Republican senators who voted to convict Trump marveled at his comeback while insisting they wouldn’t change a thing about their votes.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is one such Republican. She voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial and told the Hill she has “no regrets” about that decision. She likewise echoed Ryan’s claim that “some of her GOP colleagues do have regrets about their vote,” the Hill reports.

“I think they’re looking at this and [think,] ‘It’s like a zombie coming back from the dead,’” Murkowski said, according to the Hill. “He was political roadkill. Two impeachments and now these indictments — four indictments — and you’re telling me he’s the heir apparent?”

“Nobody’s saying it out loud,” she continued. “But, again, I certainly have no regrets.”

Read the full report at the Hill.

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