Let it be noted that Republican Senators, the majority of whom continuously vote for President Trump’s agenda, have drawn the line. It’s almost as if they had only just realized the depths of Trump’s racism. Turns out Trump’s emphatic and angry defense of some “very fine people” who just happened to attend a white nationalist rally crossed that line. Since the president’s press conference on Tuesday afternoon, multiple GOP senators have rebuked the president.
One of the first senators to challenge Trump’s response to the domestic terror attack in Charlottesville was John McCain. On Saturday, shortly after Trump failed to acknowledge the white nationalists who attended the rally, McCain clearly identified them as such.
McCain followed up after Trump’s morally repugnant press conference on Tuesday:
Here’s a collection of senators who have spent months defending Trump for whatever ridiculous, offensive remark he made, and have suddenly adopted a conscience.
Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona (who has criticized Trump, but still to support him with votes):
Senator David Perdue of Georgia:
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio:
Senator Todd Young of Indiana:
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida (whose reaction was exceptionally critical):
Senator Susan Collins of Maine (Collins has also publicly castigated Trump and voted against the Affordable Care Act’s repeal):
Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas:
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina:
Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado:
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah:
Senator John Hoevan of North Dakota:
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma:
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina:
Senator Dean Heller of Nevada:
Before we award them medals for announcing their supposed morality with a tweet, let’s wait and see how they vote in September. Naming white nationalism is one thing, actually naming Trump in a tweet condemning his words is another. Given most of these senators’ voting history, I’m suspect their newly formed spine will disintegrate.