Post by Admin on Jan 21, 2023 22:36:37 GMT
Portman is an old-school Republican, having been White House trade representative and budget chief in the George W. Bush administration. But he never really distanced himself from Donald Trump in the way some might have expected. He voted against impeaching the then president in 2020 and again in 2021, after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Portman’s second vote against impeachment came a few weeks after he had announced his retirement. This past November, Ohio voters elected Republican J.D. Vance — a staunch Trump ally — to replace Portman in the Senate.
But Portman said he does not think Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
“I don’t think he’ll end up running. I think he said he is running because he wants to test the waters and I’m sure he likes the attention,” Portman said. “But I think he will find that it’s not in his interest to run at the end.”
Portman noted that Trump has been falling behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in some public polling. Even if DeSantis lost steam, Portman does not think that would benefit Trump. “And it’ll be somebody else probably after DeSantis,” he said.
“I supported Donald Trump’s policies for the most part, strongly,” Portman said, mentioning the 2017 tax reform bill and the Trump administration’s development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“But by far, the majority of Republicans, when asked should he run again, the numbers are far lower,” he said. “And I know he’s looking at [polling data]. So I think at the end of the day, he is unlikely to run.”
One of Portman’s final negotiations came over the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that strengthened legal protections for same-sex couples. It also contained provisions to bolster religious liberty for conservatives.
Portman led the negotiations on the bill. It was the latest step in an evolution on this issue that began for him in 2011 when his son Will told his father he was gay. In 2013, Portman announced he had changed his position on gay marriage, from opposition to support. He was the first Republican senator to do so.
“I’ve reflected on it a lot,” Portman said. “It’s been a journey for me.”
Portman was a House member in the 1990s and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which stated that marriage was between a man and a woman, discriminated against same-sex couples and was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. DOMA was repealed by the Respect for Marriage Act that Portman helped pass.
“Having been through this in our own family, this is who people are,” Portman said. “And you have to respect people for who they are.
“And I know that others were not on board and very much against it. And I heard from them, and I still do hear from them. But I think they’re fighting a battle that is in the past,” he said. “And to look to the future, I think it is a matter of protecting religious liberty in the context of allowing people to be who they are.”
Portman’s second vote against impeachment came a few weeks after he had announced his retirement. This past November, Ohio voters elected Republican J.D. Vance — a staunch Trump ally — to replace Portman in the Senate.
But Portman said he does not think Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
“I don’t think he’ll end up running. I think he said he is running because he wants to test the waters and I’m sure he likes the attention,” Portman said. “But I think he will find that it’s not in his interest to run at the end.”
Portman noted that Trump has been falling behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in some public polling. Even if DeSantis lost steam, Portman does not think that would benefit Trump. “And it’ll be somebody else probably after DeSantis,” he said.
“I supported Donald Trump’s policies for the most part, strongly,” Portman said, mentioning the 2017 tax reform bill and the Trump administration’s development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“But by far, the majority of Republicans, when asked should he run again, the numbers are far lower,” he said. “And I know he’s looking at [polling data]. So I think at the end of the day, he is unlikely to run.”
One of Portman’s final negotiations came over the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that strengthened legal protections for same-sex couples. It also contained provisions to bolster religious liberty for conservatives.
Portman led the negotiations on the bill. It was the latest step in an evolution on this issue that began for him in 2011 when his son Will told his father he was gay. In 2013, Portman announced he had changed his position on gay marriage, from opposition to support. He was the first Republican senator to do so.
“I’ve reflected on it a lot,” Portman said. “It’s been a journey for me.”
Portman was a House member in the 1990s and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which stated that marriage was between a man and a woman, discriminated against same-sex couples and was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. DOMA was repealed by the Respect for Marriage Act that Portman helped pass.
“Having been through this in our own family, this is who people are,” Portman said. “And you have to respect people for who they are.
“And I know that others were not on board and very much against it. And I heard from them, and I still do hear from them. But I think they’re fighting a battle that is in the past,” he said. “And to look to the future, I think it is a matter of protecting religious liberty in the context of allowing people to be who they are.”