STATEN ISLAND -- Less than a week after freshman Rep. Max Rose announced he would fully support an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Republicans descended on the congressman’s New Dorp district office on Monday to warn him that his constituents to the right are energized and would remember his position at the polls.
“The president won this district by almost 11 percentage points, the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn and this district spoke loud and clear, [Rose] is going to face a wrath of those constituents next November, mark my words,” said New York State Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy.
Before the president’s Ukraine controversy, in September, Rose said he was opposed to impeaching the president. He argued that ousting Trump would not address serious issues facing the country and only “tear our country further apart.”
But after putting out a series of vague official statements on the issue as revelations about the president’s conversation with the Ukrainian president emerged, Rose changed course at a town hall last week and said evidence of “clear obstruction” from the Trump administration had pushed him to support the impeachment inquiry
GOP LEADER SPEAKS TO TRUMP
Langworthy said he spoke to the president on Thursday after Rose announced he would support impeachment. However, he declined to say what Trump said about the congressman, only saying the president was “fired up” and focused on "helping us gain seats back in the House of Representatives in New York State and we’re working together to do just that.”
Since Rose announced his pro-impeachment inquiry stance, Republicans have slammed Rose for changing his position on impeachment a day after an Advance story about the emergence of his first Democratic primary challenger -- Democratic Socialist and former Rose canvasser, Richard-Olivier Marius.
Members of the Republican Party said Rose has joined the ranks of more left-leaning Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar.
“Instead of focusing on doing his job and focusing on the important issues like improving our infrastructure, making New York competitive despite oppressive taxes and regulations, or lowering the cost of prescription drugs, Max fell in line with the most radical elements of the Democratic Party,” said the Island’s GOP Chairman Brendan Lantry. “Max traded the voters of Staten Island for support from the D.C. establishment who are obsessed with taking down President Trump. The voters of Staten Island deserve better.”
NO ISLAND GOP POLS PRESENT AT ANTI-IMPEACHMENT RALLY
The rally outside of Rose’s district office brought together the heads of the Republican parties on the Island and in the state as well as one of Rose’s two GOP contenders, controversial Youtube prankster Joey Saladino, but no Island Republican elected officials attended.
Langworthy said the rally was about Rose’s constituents and not about “getting a parade of elected officials out front.”
Though GOP opponent Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis did not attend Monday’s rally because her campaign said she had a prior engagement, she said in a statement: “Today’s rally in front of Max Rose’s District Office should send a message to the congressman that wasting time on endless investigations and the partisan witch hunt of our president is something that his constituents didn’t sign-up for and that includes a congressman who takes his cues from Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the radical left.”
By Monday, Rose said he was committed to figuring out “the facts.”
“I didn’t fight our enemies overseas so that our leaders would invite them to interfere in our elections back home. It’s disappointing to see the Republican Party put China and Russia ahead of America. My job is to get the facts, not play politics — and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Rose said.
After announcing his position shift, Rose said he was not concerned whatsoever that his flip could cost him his reelection bid.
ISLAND GOP VOTERS SAY ROSE’S FLIP IS MOTIVATING REPUBLICAN VOTERS TO COME OUT AND VOTE AGAINST HIM
However, Republicans voters said they think his shift could motivate more Republicans in NY-11 to vote for one of his Republican opponents.
“After Max was elected, a lot of Republicans, especially on Staten Island were like ‘alright, we’ll give this guy a chance, he seems like a nice man, he was a veteran he’s got some good morals he said he was going to go to Washington to help Staten Islanders and to help to country,' said Michael Lee of New Dorp. “He went there and is for impeachment, it’s a betrayal.”
Lee said Republicans on the Island have been “fired up” since the district’s former Republican Rep. Dan Donovan “didn’t campaign enough to beat Max Rose.”
So far, there are only two declared GOP candidates in the NY-11 race -- Malliotakis and Saladino.
Two more potential candidates, Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) and former Rep. Micheal Grimm are also still mulling whether to join the NY-11 race.
Asked who they planned to support, some Island GOP attendees at the rally said Malliotakis, others were still undecided, but one said he wanted Grimm back in office.
They all agreed though, that Rose changing his position on impeachment would hurt him in the historically conservative district.
“Conservative voters will come out and vote against this clown, you can’t trust a guy who flip flops,” said Midland Beach resident Joseph Martinez, who said he wanted Grimm back.
“What Max Rose did was he got out, he went out and shook hands, which was good … he got Republicans to vote for him because he’s military, he said he was going to stick by the president and stick by the right thing, but what wound up happening, he didn’t do that,” said Travis resident Casey Crews who plans to support Malliotakis in the June primary.
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