Here’s the list of sitting U.S. Senators, according to Wikipedia, who described themselves as “Never Trumpers” before Trump became the Republican nominee and President. What changed?
- Susan Collins, Maine (1997–present)[64] (wrote in Paul Ryan)
- Cory Gardner,[a][b] Colorado (2015–present) (wrote in Mike Pence)[68]
- Lindsey Graham,[a][b] South Carolina (2003–present)[69] (voted for Evan McMullin)[70]
- Mike Lee,[b] Utah (2011–present)[72] (voted for Evan McMullin)[73]
- Lisa Murkowski,[b] Alaska (2002–present)[75]
- Rob Portman,[a] Ohio (2010–present) (wrote in Mike Pence)[28]
- Ben Sasse, Nebraska (2015–present)[24][76]
- Dan Sullivan,[a][b] Alaska (2015–present) (wrote in Mike Pence)[77]
President Trump has not changed. His behavior and policies are completely consistent with the candidate these Senators found so abhorrent. If their opposition to candidate Trump could be described as “principled,” how should we describe their support of the president who has done what he said he would do?
Whether President Trump abused his power as President is a judgment call, but it is a matter of fact that he obstructed Congress, so how can these Senators in particular stand up and say he’s not guilty of that article? It should be an interesting trial!