‘I believed in you’: GOP Rep. Meijer faces angry constituents after backing Trump impeachment effort

Freshman U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) took the controversial step of voting with House Democrats to impeach then-President Donald Trump.

Judging by the reaction of numerous constituents during a recent town hall, the big risk doesn’t seem to have paid off.

“Every accomplishment over the previous four years”

As Breitbart reported, Meijer got an earful from angry Michiganders during a meeting on Wednesday, though he made an effort to defend his decision to join a handful of House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump last month.

Meijer doubled down on the claim among Trump critics that the former president incited an “insurrection” on Capitol Hill, referencing the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters upset over the results of November’s presidential election.

The lawmaker mentioned the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, one of the several people who died as a result of the civil unrest. He went on to lament that Trump had caused a permanent stain on his administration by taking too long to respond to the events at the Capitol as they unfolded.

“All I could think about was that every accomplishment over the previous four years … erased,” Meijer said.

Despite his attempted justification, many in the crowd were not convinced.

“I don’t think you reacted in the right time”

Nancy Eardley said that Meijer did as much to “betray” his constituents in the span of a few days as did his predecessor, Justin Amash, had done in a decade.

For what it’s worth, Amash was a frequent critic of Trump and voted in favor of the first impeachment effort against him. The former congressman also left the Republican Party to become a Libertarian.

“I don’t know that there’s really much you can say that will ever change my mind and not work toward primarying you out after two years,” Eardley told Meijer.

Even some who vehemently opposed the violent protest in D.C. last month were also outraged over Meijer’s action, including constituent Cindy Witke, who said: “I think what happened at the Capitol is horrible, but I don’t think you reacted in the right time. I went against people who told me not to vote for you because I believed in you and I’ve lost that belief.”

As it stands, Meijer is facing a primary challenge from Afghanistan War veteran and Trump supporter Tom Norton, who has predicted that he will “destroy” his intraparty rival in next year’s election.

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