One of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump in 2021 is not shying away from his decision.
However, that does not mean he considers himself a “Never Trump” politician.
During an interview on “Real America’s Voice” Monday, former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) faced questions about his decision to vote to impeach the 45th president on the charge of incitement of insurrection in light of his new Senate bid.
Host Steve Gruber asked Meijer how he plans to win over Trump supporters because, “It’s going to be an awfully hard sell for you to go to the Trump supporters with your hat in hand and say, ‘Look, this is what happened, this is why I did it.'”
“I stand by [voting for impeachment],” the former congressman responded.
He went on, “My regret is that we had to have the vote in the first place. Obviously, I regret not being in the 118th Congress where we actually had a Republican majority and could move forward to have that same degree of accountability brought to President Biden who has done far greater things to bring disgrace to that office.”
Watch the video below:
In his first interview as a Senate candidate, Peter Meijer says he stands by his vote to impeach Trump *and* will support Trump's 2024 presidential run.
— danny (@dabbs346) November 6, 2023
Amazing.#misen pic.twitter.com/yRD5jdun6J
Meijer explained his view of Jan. 6 is shaped by his experience of being in the U.S. Capitol while the violence occurred, and what he viewed as the damage to the country’s image on the world stage.
However, he argued the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 caused a similar amount of damage to the country’s image.
Turning to the upcoming presidential election, Meijer said, “When it comes to 2024, I’m going to support the Republican nominee. And that’s going to make a lot of the Lincoln Project and Never Trump folks very, very unhappy.”
“But I will support that Republican nominee because we need to make Joe Biden a one-term president,” he added.
Meijer also noted it “seems increasingly likely,” based on the polls, that Trump will win the 2024 election.
RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Trump holds a slight edge over President Joe Biden.
Meijer only served two years in the House after he lost a primary challenge in 2022 to a Trump-backed candidate.
