Voters to Rally Against Republican Congressman Who Called for Trump’s Impeachment

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) holds a Town Hall Meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., on May 28, 2019. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Constituents in Michigan have plans to rally against Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), the sole Republican to have accused President Donald Trump of “impeachable conduct,” to show the congressman that support for the president is still strong in the district.

The “squash Amash” rally, set for June 14 in Grand Rapids, was organized by the group Michigan Trump Republicans, who said Amash was “not listening to his own voter base,” reported MLive. Amash decided to break ranks with his party and to join the Democrats in backing impeachment of the president earlier last month.

“We want to make sure he knows here in Michigan we support our president,” Diane Schindlbeck, a Fremont resident and co-founder of Michigan Trump Republicans, told the news website.

“Justin Amash, as one of the elected officials here in West Michigan, is not listening to his own voter base, and his behavior is just ridiculous,” she added.

Amash became the only Republican congressman to call for Trump’s impeachment on May 18 after posting a series of messages on Twitter accusing Trump of “impeachable conduct” and calling on Congress to impeach the president.

The Michigan congressman said he came to his conclusion after reading the report by special counsel Robert Mueller. The report, which was released on April 18, found that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller also decided not to file an obstruction of justice charge against the president.

Along with making accusations against Trump, Amash also alleged that Attorney General William Barr intentionally misrepresented the principal conclusions of the special counsel report.

Amash’s remarks against Trump have angered many Republicans and fellow Michiganians. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a fellow Michiganian, criticized Amash last month, saying that the congressman was “parroting the Democrats’ talking points on Russia,” reported the Washington Examiner.

At his town hall on May 28, several constituents in his district expressed disdain for the congressman’s conduct, including an African American voter who criticized him for demonizing Trump.

“From what I’m seeing, for the black community and minorities, is that Trump is good for America,” the man began, according to a video by 13 On Your Side ABC. “And I’m wondering why the Republicans and Democrats are fighting him so much when he’s doing such a good job?”

The man continued, “You’re demonizing him on something that you know is not true. It’s just bewildering to me that you can treat the president of the United States in this way, especially when he’s doing such a good job for minorities and black people.”

Similarly, a former supporter of Amash accused the congressman of “political grandstanding” in a heated 5-minute exchange at his town hall.

“You rest safe in the knowledge … that [Trump] won’t be removed from office. So you get to make the political grandstanding that raises your national profile,” she told Amash. “You are now a national household name. That’s called political capital. And you are hoping to launch your star bigger and brighter than District 3.”

“You just talked about how you did better in District 3 than Trump. Do you want to talk about how the last election you got the least amount of support that you’ve ever had because you haven’t supported the MAGA agenda?” she added.

“It’s your right to support whatever you want, but you also know you have no future in this district because of that, as a Republican. So you want to go bigger and brighter,” the woman pointed out.

President Donald Trump answers questions on the comments of special counsel Robert Mueller while departing the White House in Washington, on May 30, 2019. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Responding to Amash’s accusations, President Trump said Amash was breaking ranks to the Republican party in order to score political points.

“Never a fan of [Justin Amash], a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy,” Trump wrote.

“If he actually read the biased Mueller Report, ‘composed’ by 18 Angry Dems who hated Trump, he would see that it was nevertheless strong on NO COLLUSION and, ultimately, NO OBSTRUCTION,” the president continued. “Anyway, how do you Obstruct when there is no crime and, in fact, the crimes were committed by the other side?”

“Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents’ hands!” the president then concluded.

Mueller’s report, which was released in April, did not establish that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia and it also did not reach a determination on whether Trump had obstructed justice.