Arizona's Rusty Bowers Comes Out Against A 2024 Trump Bid

Rusty Bowers, the Republican Arizona House speaker who testified before the Jan. 6 select committee about Donald Trump s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state, said he would never again vote for the former president.

My vote will never tarnish his name on a ballot, Bowers, a lifelong Republican, said on ABCs This Week in a pretaped interview that aired Sunday.

Ill never vote for him. But I wont have to, because I think Americas tired, and theres some absolutely forceful qualified morally defensible and upright people, and thats what I want. Thats what I want in my party and thats what I want to see, Bowers continued.

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers tells @JonKarl that he will never vote for Trump again.

\"I wont have to because I think Americas tired and theres some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people and that's what I want.\" https://t.co/xBDtn2md0s pic.twitter.com/BteEeRoTsE

This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 31, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"This Week","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC","cache_age":86400,"description":"Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers tells @JonKarl that he will never vote for Trump again.\"I wont have to because I think Americas tired and theres some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people and that's what I want.\" https://t.co/xBDtn2md0s pic.twitter.com/BteEeRoTsE This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 31, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1553804143185330182/img/6kICJ003bEy-NHeE.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"This Week on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1553804193688862722","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/rusty-bowers-donald-trump-arizona-gop_n_62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,republican-party,arizona,jan-6-committee,rusty-bowers","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/88397aaf-e780-449b-ba13-3853b0361319/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republican-party","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/arizona","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/arizona"},{"name":"jan 6 committee","slug":"jan-6-committee","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jan-6-committee","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},{"name":"rusty bowers","slug":"rusty-bowers","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/rusty-bowers","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers tells @JonKarl that he will never vote for Trump again.

"I wont have to because I think Americas tired and theres some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people and that's what I want." https://t.co/xBDtn2md0s pic.twitter.com/BteEeRoTsE
This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 31, 2022

Trump for months has hinted hell run in 2024. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has predicted the GOP will have a crowded field of presidential candidates.

Despite his damning testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee, Bowers until now remained among Republicans who would not fully break from Trump .

I dont want the choice of having to look at [Trump] again, he told Deseret News in July . And if it comes, Ill be hard pressed. I dont know what Ill do. But Im not inclined to support him.

In June, Bowers told The Associated Press he would still support Trump if he was the GOP nominee.

Simply because what he did the first time, before COVID, was so good for the county, Bowers explained. In my view it was great.

Just hours earlier, Bowers told the Jan. 6 panel of the intense pressure on him as Trump and lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressed to invalidate the states election results. Bowers said the pair never produced any substantial evidence to back up their election fraud claims.

There was no no evidence being presented of any strength ... anything that would say to me, You have a doubt. Deny your oath. I will not do that, Bowers told the panel.

And so for me to do that, because somebody just asked me to, is foreign to my very being, Bowers continued. I will not do it.

The Arizona Republican has since been censured by his own party. He faces a tough primary challenge by Trump-backed former state Sen. David Farnsworth in his bid to join the state Senate after being term-limited in the state House.

If I pull this off, its going to be a miracle, Bowers told NBC News last month .

Trump has campaigned for Farnsworth, unusual in a state race, calling Bowers a RINO, or Republican in name only.

Rusty Bowers is a RINO coward who participated against the Republican Party in the totally partisan unselect committee of political thugs and hacks the other day and disgraced himself, and he disgraced the state of Arizona, Trump told fans at a rally in the state on July 22.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Bowers told ABC News he now recognizes why some GOP leaders still support Trump.

They rule by thuggery and intimidation, Bowers told Karl. They found a niche, they found a way, and its fear and people can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon, and they weaponize everything and we all know it.

Rusty Bowers on Trumpism: \"The rule by thuggery and intimidation. They found a niche, they found a way, and it's fear. People can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon. And they weaponize everything.\" pic.twitter.com/1I5cT4IklS

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Aaron Rupar","author_url":"https://twitter.com/atrupar","cache_age":86400,"description":"Rusty Bowers on Trumpism: \"The rule by thuggery and intimidation. They found a niche, they found a way, and it's fear. People can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon. And they weaponize everything.\" pic.twitter.com/1I5cT4IklS Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1553759698968629251/pu/img/UUwraWG8sTzT72OA.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Aaron Rupar on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1553760104792690689","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/rusty-bowers-donald-trump-arizona-gop_n_62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,republican-party,arizona,jan-6-committee,rusty-bowers","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/88397aaf-e780-449b-ba13-3853b0361319/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":12},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"62e7a6fbe4b00fd8d8411100","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republican-party","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/arizona","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/arizona"},{"name":"jan 6 committee","slug":"jan-6-committee","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jan-6-committee","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},{"name":"rusty bowers","slug":"rusty-bowers","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/rusty-bowers","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/rusty-bowers"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Rusty Bowers on Trumpism: "The rule by thuggery and intimidation. They found a niche, they found a way, and it's fear. People can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon. And they weaponize everything." pic.twitter.com/1I5cT4IklS
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2022