ARIZONA NEWS

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers: Donald Trump ‘has no idea what courage is’

Aug 1, 2022, 4:45 AM

(Kevin Dietsch and Drew Angerer/Getty Images)...

(Kevin Dietsch and Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

(Kevin Dietsch and Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

PHOENIX — Republican Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers over the weekend responded to criticism from former President Donald Trump for his testimony before the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.

Trump in a rally last month supporting Arizona candidates he endorsed for office called Bowers a “RINO coward,” adding the Republican disgraced himself and the state for detailing efforts of the former president’s allies to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state.

“Someone born how he was and raised how he was, he has no idea what a hard life is and what people have to go through in the real world,” Bowers told ABC News’ This Week. “He has no idea what courage is.”

Bowers in the interview said he would never vote for Trump if he were to run again and doesn’t trust him in a position of authority.

He described the hold Trump and allies have on Republicans in the state as ruling by thuggery.

“They rule by thuggery and intimidation, so they found a niche, they found a way and it’s fear,” Bowers said. “People can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon, and they weaponize everything and we all know it.

“That’s not leadership to me.”

Bowers said many have come up to thank him for delivering the testimony, but others called him a traitor and said the price of treason is hanging.

He is going up against Trump-endorsed David Farnsworth in Tuesday’s primary election for the state Senate seat from District 10.

Bowers in a separate interview with NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard said if he loses the primary, it would probably be because of the testimony he provided.

“Probably because I stood up,” Bowers told Hillyard. “When they asked me to tell the truth, I told the truth. I didn’t go looking for a fight.

“The fact that I would break ranks and somehow find what the former president did was unacceptable, that’s like I broke some sort of taboo and I did break a taboo. It’s kind of a cultic thing that you have to be in with the cult and here’s our doctrine and you can’t go beyond the doctrine and I say no.”

Bowers was recently censured by the Arizona Republican Party’s executive committee, but Chair Kelli Ward previously said that the unanimous action was for him going against the party’s platform and had nothing to do with the testimony.

In the interview with ABC News, Bowers asserted the former president’s control of the party may be waning.

“I think America’s tired,” Bowers said. “There’s some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible and upright people and that’s what I want. That’s what I want for my party and that’s what I want to see.”

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

woman cutting a sandwich in the back of house...

KTAR.com

Eligible Mesa small business owners can register for low-cost college courses

A new program in Mesa is expanding ways that small business owners can earn college credits. 

5 hours ago

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)...

Associated Press

Judge denies Phoenix request to extend clean up time at The Zone

A judge on Tuesday denied the city of Phoenix’s legal request seeking extra time to clean up the city’s largest homeless encampment.

9 hours ago

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is surrounded by staff, security and journalists as he walks to the Ho...

Brandon Gray

Kevin McCarthy out as speaker of the House: How Arizona representatives voted

In a 216-210 vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted off his post, making him the first in history to be removed from the role.

9 hours ago

(ADOT Photo)...

KTAR.com

ADOT uses updated technology to improve operation of freeway ramp meters

Updated technology has allowed the Arizona Department of Transportation to optimize the operation of its freeway ramp meters.

10 hours ago

Mug shots of Frank Avila, left, and Albert Valenzuela. The men were arrested after a Phoenix bus ro...

KTAR.com

1 man dead, 2 arrested after Phoenix bus robbery leads to hit-and-run collision

A man faces possible murder charges after a victim he allegedly tried to rob on a Phoenix bus was hit and killed by a vehicle while fleeing.

11 hours ago

...

KTAR Video

Video: What would it mean if the city of Phoenix entered into a “consent decree?”

Maricopa County Sherriff Paul Penzone announced Monday that he would not run for re-election and after bringing in a police chief following a national search, Mike Broomhead ponders what message the city of Phoenix would send by entering into a consent decree. Video: Jeremy Schnell and Felisa Cárdenas/KTAR News

15 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers: Donald Trump ‘has no idea what courage is’