Never Trump Republican Governor of Vermont Opposes Trump Again

Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, who did not vote for President Donald Trump, said Friday that he would not vote for Trump in 2020, either.

It was unclear whether Scott would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party nominee.

Media reported Scott’s announcement as if it were newsworthy, but Scott’s vote was never in doubt.

Earlier this year, Scott endorsed former Libertarian Party presidential candidate (and former Massachusetts governor) Bill Weld for the Republican nomination.

He also backed Democrats’ effort to impeach and remove Trump from office, as the Associated Press noted:

President Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn’t be in office, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a fellow Republican, said Thursday in a rare dissent from within party ranks.

…

When pressed about whether he would have voted to remove the president, Scott noted he isn’t a member of the Senate.

“I believe that the president abused his powers. It’s hard, in some respects for me, because I’m not a supporter,” Scott said. “I didn’t vote for the president, and I don’t believe that he should be in office.”

Republicans in Vermont have been frustrated with Scott since the beginning of his administration, as he has constantly opposed President Trump’s policies. Both were elected in 2016; though Democrats dominate Vermont, Scott benefited from votes cast by Trump supporters.

Scott is one of several Republican governors in deep-blue Democratic states that have held Trump at arm’s length in an attempt to retain their local political support. Others include Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Scott was re-elected in 2018 to a second two-year term. He is running for a third term this year.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.