CNN’s John Berman said Tuesday that Republican Sen. Richard Burr was censured by the North Carolina GOP for voting in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump.
North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley told Berman on CNN’s “New Day” that he doesn’t believe the North Carolina GOP was penalizing Burr for his vote. (RELATED: Rep. Adam Kinzinger Received Scathing Letter From Family Members After Calling For Trump’s Removal)
“I think that the Republicans across North Carolina, the party leaders that I talk to, were shocked and disappointed with Senator Burr’s vote and wanted to put out a statement just saying that we disagreed with it,” Whatley told Berman.
On two previous occasions, Burr voted that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional, and his vote to convict Trump Saturday shocked colleagues. The North Carolina GOP censured Burr, who was one of seven senators who voted in favor of convicting Trump.
“I don’t think that this is a statement against Richard Burr as a senator. I think this is a statement that we disagree with that particular vote,” Whatley said.
Whatley drew a distinction between disagreeing with a senator’s vote and cancel culture, which he said has resulted in Trump being banned from “all social media, where we see people losing their jobs, where we see people who have been hit on social media or deplatformed.”
“You’re canceling him [Burr] because of that vote,” Berman told Whatley.
“We’re not canceling anything, we’re saying we disagree with one particular vote,” Whatley responded.
WATCH:
The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to convict Trump, falling short of the 67 votes required for conviction. The House voted 232-197 in favor of impeaching the former president a second time on Jan. 13, charging him with a single article of “incitement of insurrection.”
A mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 during a protest that turned into a deadly riot as the Electoral College was in the process of certifying the presidential election results.
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