Republican Refuses To Vote For Trump
Former Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, has announced that he will not cast his vote for either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming November election. Toomey, who served in the Senate for 12 years before stepping down early last year, has indicated a significant shift from his previous support of Trump.
In an interview with CNBC, Toomey explained his decision, stating that despite having voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020, he cannot support Trump this time around. He criticized Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, asserting that such actions disqualify him from Toomey’s support. “When you lose an election and you try to overturn the results so that you can stay in power, you lose me,” Toomey remarked, referencing the former president’s claims of voter fraud.
Toomey was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial, which charged him with inciting an insurrection against the United States.
Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, will play a significant role in determining the presidential election’s outcome. Despite this, Toomey has made it clear that he cannot support either of the leading candidates. “I acknowledge that the outcome is a binary situation, but my choice is not,” Toomey stated, responding to concerns that not voting for Trump might effectively support Harris.
Regarding Harris’ economic policies, which include raising the corporate tax rate to 28% and increasing the capital gains tax rate to 45% for high-income earners, Toomey, a long-time fiscal conservative, expressed concern. He suggested that if Harris were elected, Republican control of the Senate would be crucial to counterbalance her administration’s policies.
“To keep Harris in check, it is essential to have a Republican-controlled Senate,” Toomey emphasized. He warned of potential extreme measures from Harris and her left-wing supporters, including the possible repeal of the filibuster, significant tax increases, expansions of Medicare, and even changes to the Supreme Court. Toomey believes that Senate Republicans could play a vital role in mitigating the impact of a President Harris through their power to confirm or reject her nominees. “They’ve got to hold firm on some of these nominees,” he said.
