Politico reports that Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) says that he now regrets voting against certifying two states’ electoral votes for President Joe Biden in the hours after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Rice called former President Donald Trump a coward. “There was a coward in that equation,” Rice said. “But it wasn’t Mike Pence.” Rice isn’t wrong, and Trump, to this day, has not conceded the race he lost over a year ago. Rice tore into the former President.
Rice told the outlet that he still believes there were “real issues with the election.” Rice was among the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump over the insurrection. However, of those ten, Rice is the only one who voted for certification challenges to Biden’s win.
“In retrospect, I should have voted to certify,” Rice said. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.”
“In the wee hours of that disgraceful night, while waiting for the Capitol of our great country to be secured, I knew I should vote to certify. But because I had made a public announcement of my intent to object, I did not want to go back on my word. So yeah, I regret my vote to object.”
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Rice went on to say that Trump watched “with pride” from the safety of the White House and “did nothing to stop” his supporters from storming the Capitol. He said that as Capitol Police were beaten for hours, the House was “sacked and deface,” and then-Vice President Mike Pence and his family had to flee for their lives. Rice said that resulted in five deaths and hundreds injured.
Seven hundred twenty-seven individuals were arrested for their alleged crimes when they attacked the Capitol. Over 140 police officers were injured, and the former President has continued with his dangerous and false rhetoric of a rigged election. Trump told his supporters on Jan. 6 that he would march with them to the Capitol. He, of course, did not and left the area by car. For Trump, it’s never been America first. It’s Trump first. As Politico noted, Rice is the first Republican to express regrets for voting against certifying Biden’s win.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
