Sen. Lisa Murkowski, aghast at Donald Trump’s candidacy and the direction of her party, won’t rule out bolting from the GOP.
The veteran Alaska Republican, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial amid the aftermath of January 6, 2021, is done with the former president and said she “absolutely” would not vote for him.
“I wish that as Republicans, we had … a nominee that I could get behind,” Murkowski told CNN. “I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”
The party’s shift toward Trump has caused Murkowski to consider her future within the GOP. In the interview, she would not say if she would remain a Republican.
Asked if she would become an independent, Murkowski said: “Oh, I think I’m very independent minded.” And she added: “I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.”
I might’ve voted for him in 2000, but by 2008 he was a different man and worse for it. Still stuck up for Obama when a heckler called him a Muslim. I respect McCain, but also he sold his fucking soul for his run in 2008. I respected him so much more when he stood up to his party when he thought they were wrong.
His defense of Obama was still couched in bigotry. To paraphrase (I think), he said, “Mr. Obama is not a Muslim, he is a decent person.” Yes, he meant well, but he still flubbed it.