Republican lawmakers who paid a heavy political price for voting to impeach President Donald Trump are blaming Democratic lawmakers for refusing to publicly address President Joe Biden's mental breakdown.

Former Reps. John Katko and Tom Rice told the Daily Caller that it's time for Democrats to put country before party and be honest about Biden. While a handful of Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step down, far more have spoken privately to journalists about Biden's decline, refusing to go public with their concerns.

“Their primary role is to do what's necessary to get re-elected, not what's best for the country,” Rice said. “I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. And the best part is, because I swore an oath to uphold it, I had no intention of breaking that oath.”

Currently, many Democrats are not taking a similar stance, despite calling on Republicans to do so in the past.

“Strong leadership is lonely, and tough decisions, especially those that go against your own party, are even lonelier,” Katko told the Caller. “But sometimes they are so necessary. With President Biden, for many in the Democratic Party, this may be one of those times. It's a long history.”

Under Trump, the Democratic Party He accused the Republican Party of cowardice. They criticized the media for not standing up for the president. More specifically, they bashed Republicans who said behind closed doors they had problems with Trump but wouldn't say so in public. Now the tables are turned.

The thing is, Jake/Bless/I talk to a lot of Democrats and we do that quite frequently.

At this point, I have not personally spoken to anyone who believes Biden could run for president and beat Trump.

This debate has merely given public expression to the concerns many of them have… https://t.co/6ApJvDqAmF

— Heather Cagle (@heatherscope) July 9, 2024

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote in 2022 that Republicans lack moral courage, which Krugman defined as standing up for one's beliefs in the face of societal pressure.

Robert Kagan, The Washington Post “Republicans remain cowards, hoping to survive just as they have for the past eight years by keeping their heads down and ignoring Trump's threats and dictatorial behavior,” he wrote.

Rice and Katko were among the few Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Trump, after Katko chose to retire from Congress and Rice lost the Republican primary. (Related article: Nearly half of Democrats see Joe Biden ineligible for second term due to age: poll)

Biden's age has been a major political topic in the weeks since his disastrous debate defeat against Trump, with countless liberal activists, media figures and former Democratic Party officials calling on him not to seek reelection.

“Democrats know Biden is unfit to be president,” Rice said. “They don't want to risk angering their base and losing their seats because they are more hungering for their own power than they are wanting to do the right thing for the country.”