Former House Speaker Paul Ryan chastised his Republican colleagues for failing to impeach former President Donald Trump for his participation in the January 6 election, as he backed a South Carolina House member who is being targeted by the ex-president.
‘There were a lot of folks who wanted to vote like Tom but didn’t have the courage to do it,’ Ryan said on Wednesday, referring to Rep. Tom Rice, one of ten House Republicans who voted for Trump’s second impeachment.
In February, Trump supported South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry in the fight to unseat Rice, who has been in office for ten years.
Congressman Tom Rice of South Carolina, the coward who abandoned his constituents by bowing to Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left, and who voted against me on Impeachment Hoax #2, must be removed from office as soon as possible – and we have precisely the guy for the job!’ In Fry’s endorsement email, Trump remarked.
The primary in South Carolina occurs on June 14th.
Ryan, who left Congress in 2019, flew to Florence, South Carolina, on Wednesday to vouch for Rice, whom he met while serving on the House Ways and Means Committee together.
According to the Sun News in Myrtle Beach, Ryan described Rice as a “man of conviction.”
‘A lot of people say they’re going to vote their conscience, they’re going to vote for the Constitution, they’re going to vote for their convictions, but when it comes difficult, they don’t,’ Ryan added. ‘Tom Rice is the type of member of Congress you want.’
Rice, according to the former House speaker, is a ‘work horse,’ and his party has been swamped by show ponies.
‘This is such a clear instance of a hardworking, successful, senior member of Congress who deserves reelection against folks who are simply trying to be celebrities who may be helping Trump with his vengeance,’ Ryan added.
‘That’s not who voters want,’ he continued. ‘Voters want people focused on their solutions, not Trump’s revenge, and that, to me, is a pretty clear cut case here.’
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who voted for Trump’s second impeachment, defended his colleague, saying, “This is a reality.” ‘I spoke with a few,’ Rice added after saying that ‘a lot’ of Republicans support impeaching Trump.
Rice referred to Ryan as a fellow geek.
The congressman stated of his former colleague, “This guy sitting here, he’s a nerd like me.” ‘He wants to fix issues,’ says the narrator.
Rice also gained support from Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who was once a Trump supporter but has now turned against him.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another impeachment backer who is retiring from Congress instead of trying to overcome a MAGA primary, shared Ryan’s comments about ‘a lot’ of Republicans quietly supporting impeachment – saying they were true.
‘This is a proven fact. Kinzinger tweeted on Thursday, “I talked to some.”
Rep. Liz Cheney, a former No. 3 House Republican who will be on Wyoming’s primary ballot in August, is Trump’s largest impeachment advocate in the House.
So far, he’s had a mixed record on 2022 endorsements, with J.D. Vance, his choice for Ohio Senate, comfortably progressing to the general election, while Dr. Mehmet Oz, his choice in Pennsylvania, is mired in a recount against opponent David McCormick.
Charles Herbster, Trump’s nominee for governor of Nebraska, lost his GOP primary to Jim Pillen, a hog farmer and University of Nebraska Regent who had backing from outgoing Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Herbster has been accused of groping many times.