You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. Or, at least, a sellout.
Case in point: Former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) lost his seat in 2020 because of his vote to impeach Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Today, he’s running for U.S. Senate in Michigan and says he will support whoever the GOP nominates for president—which is to say, he would vote for Donald Trump.
When asked by Politico magazine during his January 2023 “exit interview” whether he would support Trump in 2024, Meijer responded, “I have no idea how I would do that.”
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Apparently, he figured it out.
During that same interview, Meijer lamented that Republicans running for office in the Trump era “know they need his endorsement, and then what they end up doing to get that endorsement ends up being disqualifying.”
It’s worth considering whether this “disqualifying” behavior now applies to Meijer himself.
At the very least, Meijer is undermining his brave vote to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
To be clear, Meijer presumably believes that 1) Trump was responsible for a riot that sought to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and 2) that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he were elected leader of the free world again.
Talk about a stunning and fast about-face for just one of 10 House Republicans willing to impeach the former president.
Most members of Congress spend decades toiling in obscurity without ever making a decision that might be deemed a profile in courage. Meijer’s moment came early, perhaps before he could fully process the consequences. A vote he took in his early thirties, in his second week on the job as a freshman congressman, will likely be the first line of his obituary.
Now that line will necessitate an asterisk.
Sacrificing his career to impeach Trump would have been his defining moment. What else do most people even know about him? He’s a rich kid from a family that owns a lucrative supermarket chain. Check. He is an Iraq War veteran, which is commendable. And he stood up to Trump (back then, at least).
And the crazy thing is that he may be throwing his legacy away for nothing. Even if Meijer avoids the retribution of Trump, it’s worth noting that the Republican establishment in D.C. also seems to be gunning for him.
Meijer could very well end the 2024 cycle having lost both his election and his formerly heroic reputation.
What bothers me, though, is what the rest of us are losing.
Whenever formerly defiant leaders like Meijer are brought to heel, it demoralizes everyone else and weakens the resolve of other would-be resisters.
Meijer’s volte-face doesn’t just reflect Trump’s power, it amplifies the perception of his power.
At a time when heroes are few and far between and villains, grifters, and cowards seem to be ascendant, Meijer’s actions erode our dwindling hope in political nobility. It’s almost like finding out your favorite athlete has been doping.
The message is clear. You have to back Trump. Or else.
This holds true whether you are heir to a national political dynasty (like former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) or a local financial dynasty (like Meijer). It’s not even tenable to remain coy or (as I have done) vote for “Ronald Reagan” instead of pulling the lever for Trump or Biden.
And make no mistake, Meijer’s stated reasons for changing his tune are outright bullshit.
In a new interview with Politico magazine this week, Meijer’s arguments come off as pretty weak. Here are a few:
Meijer cites the New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump, suggesting the timing is politically motivated. (Even if this is true, it is irrelevant to the question of Trump’s fitness.)
He argues the “economic damage” Joe Biden has caused will far exceed any damage caused by a second Trump administration. (I’m no fan of Bidenomics, but Trump was an even bigger spender. Besides, how do our current economic woes compare with the long-term damage Trump has done to the social fabric by trying to overturn a free and fair election?)
Meijer makes a convoluted argument that having Trump as president will increase scrutiny of the office, which would help “rein in executive power.”
Meijer’s best argument is that Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was disgraceful and in the same league as the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The problem with this argument, though, is that Trump was the architect of the withdrawal.
These are all convenient excuses. The obvious reason Meijer has flipped is that the allure of power was too strong for him to endure.
The bigger question is why he thinks he can pull this off.
If you read this latest interview (and I recommend you do), you might come away, as I did, thinking that Meijer hopes to become the J.D. Vance of Michigan. In other words, a smart young veteran who initially opposed Trump—but eventually embraced the sort of populism that ultimately won him Trump’s support.
Before Vance ran for U.S. Senate, he was very critical of Trump. But, unlike Meijer, Vance never voted to impeach him.
It’s one thing to squander your profile in courage. But to do so in vain takes a special kind of stupid.
