Supporting The Impeachment Of Donald Trump, Republican Politicians Reap Internal Criticism

Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. (Wikimedia Commons / United States Senate)

JAKARTA - One by one, the Republican Party politicians who support the impeachment of Donald Trump have drawn strong criticism from internal parties after the impeachment trial is over.

Take, for example, Senator Richard Burr from North Carolina. North Carolina party leaders voted to denounce Burr, after voting in support of former US President Donald Trump.

Burr is a veteran politician. This is his third term as a senator and will not run again in the 2022 elections. Together with six other senators, he is voting to punish Trump.

North Carolina's Republican Central Committee unanimously voted against Burr, saying it agreed with a strong majority of Republicans on Monday February 15 local time.

North Carolina Republican Chairman Michael Whatley condemned Burr for voting against former Donald Trump. He said Burr's choice had surprised and disappointed voters at the end of his job.

Last week, Burr said there was strong evidence that Donald Trump was guilty of instigating a rebellion. After the vote in the Senate, he said it was a sad day for his party.

"My party leadership has chosen loyalty to one person above the core principles of the Republican Party and our great nation founder," he said.

Not only Burr, his party colleagues who supported the impeachment also drew criticism. In Louisiana, Republican officials there criticized Senator Bill Cassidy for voting to punish Trump.

Likewise with Senator Pat Toomey who also supports punishing Trump, drawing criticism from the Republican Party in Pennsylvania led by Lawrence Tabas.

The other four Republican Senators who voted to punish were Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse.

Republicans have faced internal conflicts since Trump left office on January 20. Many are still loyal to Trump, many have criticized him for not supporting Trump's impeachment. As did Senate Minority Leader and senior Republican politician Mitch McConnell.

Donald Trump's second impeachment trial ended on Saturday with a 57-43 vote in favor of punishment. The tally is less than the two-thirds it takes to convict.