In a deep dive by Politico into the attempt by Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) to survive voting for Donald Trump's impeachment and still be reelected, he describes the death threats he is still facing from angry supporters of the former president.
According to the report from Politico's Ally Mutnik, conservative voters heading to the polls in South Carolina will be deciding the fate of Rice who is being challenged by state Rep. Russell Fry which the report states could be headed to a "vicious runoff" due to his fateful vote seventeen months ago.
"Rice’s campaign is a vignette of what it means to cross Trump in today’s Republican Party," writes Mutnik. "The personal cost to him and those who associate with him is compounded by the threat of a career-ending loss."
Rice was unsparing in his assessment of Trump's actions.
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"He’s trying to set the Republican Party up as a bunch of yes-men loyalists," he told Politico. "Think about that. That’s scary.”
Rice continued, "Trump, like no other person I’ve ever met is the most spiteful and petty and vengeful," before adding, "He hadn’t shown himself to be a tyrant before that. I don’t think he was a tyrant before that. I do think he’s a narcissist. He craves attention. He hates to lose.”
The personal toll, he explained, has been dire.
"Voters have hung out of car windows and yelled from crowds to call him a 'traitor.' His chief of staff had to sort through death threats to decide which ones she needed to flag for Rice and which ones should go straight to the police. His wife was initially afraid to go to the grocery store," the report states before adding, "Rice’s wife, Wrenzie, said she was scared to venture around the district in the days following the impeachment, and she implored her son not to walk alone to bars at night."
“I just did not feel safe," she explained. "You don’t know if they all of a sudden hate you and want to hurt you.”
As for the lawmaker, he still carries a text message on his phone, warning, him, "What kind of bird does not sing. You chose sides and now you pay the price.”
You can read more here.
