“There was a strong case made,” Thune said. “People could come to different conclusions. If we’re going to criticize the media and the left for cancel culture, we can’t be doing that ourselves.”
Thune, the Senate Republican whip, voted to acquit Trump. He was joined by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and every other member of the body’s GOP leadership.
The Republicans who voted to convict said Trump was guilty of incitement and stood by their votes, even as most were censured by county or state Republican bodies.
The North Carolina Republican Party, for instance, voted Monday to censure Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), saying it “agrees with the strong majority of Republicans in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that the Democrat-led attempt to impeach a former President lies outside the United States Constitution.”
Burr responded, calling it “a sad day for North Carolina Republicans.”
“My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation,” the senator, who is retiring when his term ends in early 2023, added.
Even some of the Republicans who voted to acquit have had harsh words for Trump, including Thune and McConnell.
