- Rusty Bowers recently testified about the pressure campaign he faced from Trump after the 2020 election.
- But the AZ GOP House Speaker later garnered attention for saying he'd still support Trump in 2024.
- He told Insider he believes Trump has engaged in "tyrannical" behavior and would prefer someone else.
PHOENIX, Arizona — Russell "Rusty" Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, is still doing damage control after telling the Associated Press he'd vote for former President Donald Trump again despite testifying to the House January 6 committee that Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election.
Bowers brought up the issue, which he called "the magic question," during an interview with Insider on Friday that focused largely on his contentious primary race for a state Senate seat in his hometown of Mesa.
"Any intimation that I have some overriding, some powerful support for Mr. Trump just would be false," Bowers said. "I'm looking for a good candidate. And I hope we can certainly provide one, otherwise it's just going to be a hard thing."
Bowers also said he believes Trump has behaved like a tyrant.
"I think much of what he has done has been tyrannical, especially of late," Bowers told Insider. "I think that there are elements of tyranny that anybody can practice on any given day, and I feel like I've seen a lot of it, a lot of bullying and name calling."
In late June, Bowers testified alongside Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his deputy, Gabriel Sterling, in a hearing that focused on Trump's effort to pressure state officials to overturn the 2020 election results.
At the public hearing, Bowers detailed the intense pressure campaign he faced from Trump and his allies to reconvene the Arizona House after the election in order to decertify his state's electors, which had been elected to then-President elect Joe Biden. That campaign included months of harassment from Trump supporters at his home, where his daughter was sick with a terminal illness that she died from in January 2021.
"We have various groups come by and they have had video panel trucks with videos of me, proclaiming me to be a pedophile and a pervert and a corrupt politician," Bowers said at the hearing.
But prior to the hearing, he told the AP that he'd still support Trump in 2024 if he was the party's presidential nominee, saying Trump's tenure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic had been "so good for the country." Those remarks prompted an array of opinion pieces expressing shock at how Bowers could've endured what he did and still support the former president.
By the time Bowers spoke with Insider, he'd already tried to clarify the remarks, telling Deseret News that he's "not inclined" to support Trump in 2024, while complaining that he'd been "boxed" by the question.
He told Insider on Friday that he would prefer an alternative to Trump, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former Vice President Mike Pence.
"DeSantis has some of the Trumpian persona, but he's got some character," said Bowers. "Mr. Pence. My family is very solidly impressed with Mr. Pence."
"Pence, DeSantis — that level of person, I think, would be awesome as a candidate," he added.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 25% of GOP voters would support DeSantis over Trump in 2024, while 6% indicated support for Pence.
But Bowers also offered some praise for the former president in his interview with Insider, capturing the complexity of his views about Trump.
"At the same time, as I've said — hey, the regulatory environment that he turned over to other people went fantastic," said Bowers. "The EPA was streamlined and more functional and did a better job, the Abraham Accords in the Middle East — any one of those. Others haven't accomplished as much."
Term-limited in the state House, Bowers is now running for the state Senate, where he previously served from 1997 to 2003. He faces former state Sen. David Farnsworth, who was endorsed by Trump following Bowers' testimony in Washington, in the August 2 primary.