Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey revealed that he won’t be voting for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in November. Toomey, who served two terms in the chamber and retired after voting to convict Trump during his second Senate impeachment, tried to explain his reasoning in a contentious interview with Joe Kernan on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’
‘When you lose an election and you try to overturn the results so that you can stay in power, you lose me. You lose me at that point, ‘ said Toomey. He was responding to a question about how he and former Speaker Paul Ryan ‘give me a list of reasons why Kamala Harris would be the worst thing to ever happen but still won’t vote for Trump.’ Kernan told him that ‘it is a binary choice.’
Toomey told him that he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. When he spoke to Kernan about trying to overturn the results of the election, the host talked over him and said ‘Okay, we all are familiar with …’ ‘You would prefer Kamala Harris,’ the host scolded Toomey, who now sits on the board of Apollo Global Management.
‘I acknowledge that the outcome is a binary situation but my choice is not,’ Toomey continued. ‘It is an acceptable position for me to say that neither of these candidates can be my choice for president,’ he added. That got Kernan running through the policy risks that he said Harris poses.
‘Twenty eight percent corporate taxes, 45 percent capital gains, unrealized capital gains …’ Toomey countered that Republican control of the Senate is ‘absolutely essential.’ ‘If the other side runs the table, then Katie bar the door,’ he said, predicting that Democrats would be ‘dragged by their left wing.’
Then Kernan mentioned ‘regulatory moves,’ but Toomey, who served 12 years, said a GOP Senate can ‘mitigate the damage’ through its confirmation and other powers.
As Biden learned, even when controlling the Senate, it can be difficult to move legislation, and Senate Democrats resisted proposals to change the filibuster rules that allow a minority to block legislation.
Toomey represented a state that has become central to both campaign’s election plans. The state is in a virtual tie, and Harris plans to return there in days after stumping in Pittsburgh on Labor Day. Toomey denounced Trump while explaining his impeachment vote after January 6, when he had already announced his retirement.
‘As a result of President Trump’s actions, for the first time in American history, the transfer of presidential power was not peaceful,’ he said. ‘A lawless attempt to retain power by a president was one of the founders’ greatest fears motivating the inclusion of the impeachment authorities in the U.S. Constitution.’
