Where it went was a firestorm of far-right outrage, with angry conservatives convinced that Amodei had actually called for impeaching Trump. Amodei quickly responded by protesting, “In no way, shape, or form, did I indicate support for impeachment,” but even expressing openness to an inquiry was enough to infuriate not only the rank and file but top Republicans as well. Amodei told the New York Times that he faced the same question from the party’s congressional leaders, the Trump campaign’s political director, and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney: “What the heck are you doing?”
Amodei seemed to recognize how much trouble he was in, snarking, “I’m Brutus, and Trump’s Julius Caesar.” For assassinating his patron, Dante consigned Brutus to the very last circle of hell, to be eternally chewed on in one of Satan’s three mouths, which is probably where many Republicans would like to see Amodei.
However, while he’s repeatedly criticized how congressional Democrats have handled the inquiry, Amodei has said he’s still keeping an open mind about what information it brings to light. Last week, he said he was still “where I was before,” and added, “I don’t know whether it is or isn’t instantly, it’s like, let’s see what happened with some level of credibility, and then you let the chips fall where they are.”
That, naturally, did not appease Trump’s team. This week, the Trump campaign announced that Laxalt and the two top Republicans in the legislature would serve as its state co-chairs for 2020, but Amodei’s name was tellingly left off the list. Amodei was a co-chair in 2016 and is the only Republican left in Nevada’s congressional delegation, making the omission all the more glaring. The congressman even told the Associated Press that the campaign had approached him earlier this year about taking up that role again this cycle and says he prepared a statement accepting the position.
Amodei issued a statement about his snub saying, “Since I have yet to hear from their campaign, your guess is as good as mine.” However, he seemed to know exactly why he’d gotten left out since he continued, “I can only assume that a fake news story from a few weeks ago has obviously created some discomfort for them, so they acted accordingly.” He added, “In today’s political climate, even if a story is proven incorrect, there clearly isn’t any margin for even a wrongful claim.” Of course, there was nothing “fake” about the statements on impeachment that came out of Amodei’s own mouth, making his efforts to sound like a Trump cultist utterly hollow.
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