Baker Says Removing Trump Is A Decision For Congress, Criticizes Partisanship In Impeachment Process

Gov. Charlie Baker refused to say whether he thought President Donald Trump should have been impeached on Thursday, but he did say that he hoped the Senate will hold a fair trial.

In an interview with Boston Public Radio the day after the House of Representatives impeached Trump and charged him with abuse of power and of obstructing Congress, the governor did not want to weigh in on the actual charges levied against Trump. But he did criticize the intense partisanship that was on display throughout the impeachment inquiry.

“Look, that’s the decision they made,” Baker said. “I wish it had been a little bit more bipartisan, but unfortunately we’re never going to get that out of this Washington.”

As a member of the Republican Party, Baker has come under scrutiny for being in the same party as Trump. On Thursday, Baker pointed out that he has been critical of the president in the past, and did not support him in the 2016 presidential election.

“I didn’t support the president in the Republican primary. I didn’t support him in the general election, and I said that I didn’t think he had the temperament for the job. And there’s nothing that’s happened in the course of the last few years that’s changed my mind,” Baker said.

Baker is frequently reluctant to weigh in on the politics of Washington, but has consistently been critical of the lack of bipartisanship in Congress. In Massachusetts, the governor has crafted a reputation of being a fiscal conservative who is willing to work with the Democratic legislature to achieve goals that are amiable to both parties. Bucking Republican Party orthodoxy, Baker has come out in favor of abortion rights, signed a bill raising the state’s minimum wage and has expressed an openness to reducing the impacts of climate change.

Though liberal critics have accused the governor of underfunding the MBTA, not doing enough to protect the state’s immigrant population from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, and being too friendly with the fossil fuel industry, he also netted multiple endorsements from Democratic mayors throughout the state in his reelection campaign in 2018.

Baker’s moderate stances, however, have put him increasingly at odds with a Republican Party that is moving further to the right. Despite Baker’s efforts to stay out of the national political fray, even in Massachusetts he’s found himself confronted with a state Republican Party that seems to have more in common with Trump than Baker.

In 2018, Baker endorsed former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was also the co-chair of Trump’s Massachusetts campaign in 2016. Yet, when asked if he would vote for Diehl during a debate with Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez, Baker said he was not sure if he would vote for him. In a press conference after the debate, however, Baker said he misspoke and said he would vote for Diehl.

Read more: In Debate With Gonzalez, Baker Refuses To Say He Will Vote For Diehl For Senate

Recently, Baker has found himself at odds with the Massachusetts Republican Party. In September, the Mass GOP approved a resolution that accused Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, of being aligned with terrorist groups. During a September appearance on Boston Public Radio, Baker condemned the resolution.

“I don’t think it accomplishes very much, and I think it degrades public discourse,” Baker said at the time. “While I certainly probably don’t agree a lot with either of those congresswomen, they were duly elected by the people of their districts, and that’s who they’re accountable to.”

The rift has even aroused speculation that Baker may leave the Republican Party and form his own, but on Thursday, the governor said that he is proud to be a Republican — at least what he believes a Republican should be, he said.

“I joined the Republican Party when I got out of college [because] I was a big fan of Ronald Reagan’s and I stayed there because I was a big fan of Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci and I’m still a big fan of my brand of Republicanism, which I believe is a better way to think about this stuff than many of the others that are out there these days,” Baker said. “I have no trouble being a Republican defined the way I want to define it.”