Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina at a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2022.
Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina at a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2022.AP Photo/Alex Brandon
  • Tom Rice voted to impeach Trump after he was elected.

  • If Trump apologized for his part in the attack, he would back him up again.

  • Rice is facing a tough reelection effort.

If the former president apologizes for his role in provoking the attack, Tom Rice might reconsider his vote to impeach him.

Rice was asked if he could ever support Trump again.

Rice stopped himself before he could say no.

Rice said that if he apologized, there was one way to go. He said that he might consider it if he came out and apologized for the mistake.

If the former president ran again, it would hurt the party, according to the fifth-term South Carolina Republican.

—ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 6, 2022

Ten House Republicans, including Rice, voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection after the deadly attack on January 6. He lambasted Trump for failing to reckon with the harm he'd caused in his statement about his vote.

The President hasn't asked for calm. He didn't visit the injured and grieving. He didn't offer anyCondolences At the border yesterday, he said his comments were perfectly appropriate.

For the last four years, I've supported this President. I voted for him two times. He said that this failure is unacceptable.

Rice has compared Trump's actions to that of a dictator.

"If the president can intimidate Congress into voting their way, then we might as well do away with Congress and hand it over to a king," Rice told the Washington Post. I think he did what dictators do.

Following a Trump rally in South Carolina in March, Rice issued a statement condemning his primary opponent, Fry, as someone who supports a would-be tyrant over the Constitution.

Even though Rice suggests that a simple apology from Trump could make him forgive his actions, he defended his vote to impeach Trump in the same interview.

Defending the Constitution is a core part of the Republican platform. Conservatives voted that way. He said there was no question in his head. I'd do it again tomorrow.

A recent Trafalgar Group poll shows Fry leading Rice by more than 17 points if Trump were to win again.

Ryan told a group of supporters that most other Republicans didn't have the "guts" to vote to impeach Trump.

Ryan told the group that there were many people who wanted to vote for Tom but didn't have the guts. A lot of people who say they're going to vote their conscience, they're going to vote for the constitution, but when it gets hard to do that, they don't do it.

Business Insider has an article on it.