"I will not allow my anger over the criminal attack of Jan. 6 nor the political intimidation from the left to lead me into supporting a dangerous constitutional precedent," Rubio wrote in a statement after the vote.
Still, that did not stop him from telling what made him angry about the riots, or saying that viewing the records of the attack provoked the anger in him.
"I do not need to be convinced that what happened on that day was the disgraceful work of a treasonous criminal mob," Rubio said. "But seeing images of that attack stirred up anger in me. Anger that our nation was embarrassed in the eyes of the world by our own citizens. Anger that Capitol Police officers that my family and I know personally had to deal with these low-lives.
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"Anger that janitorial and food service staff I have gotten to know – many who came to America to get away from countries with political violence – had to clean up the mess left behind by these cretins."
Impeachment, Rubio said, is not a way of conveying a lesson, but to remove a person from office who is guilty of wrongdoing.
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He continued, the Senate does not have power under the Constitution to convict a former official such as Trump, and to do so would produce a new criterion and "weaponize" impeachment as a way to keep a former official from future public office.
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"The real purpose of this trial was to tar and feather not just the rioters, but anyone who supported the former President and any senator who refused to vote to convict," Rubio said.
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He also called for a look to the future, because "we should be focused on the serious challenges of the present and preparing our country to confront the serious tests it will face in the future."
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On Saturday, the Senate voted to acquit Trump. All 50 Democrats and 7 Republicans voted to convict Trump, while 43 Republicans voted to acquit.
During the four years of his presidential occupation and on the campaign trail in 2016, Trump used "lock her up" as a rallying cry against his former rival Clinton. His supporters have since applied this call to other women in power, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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Rubio was one of the fiercest opponents to the impeachment proceedings. In January, he called it "stupid" and promised to vote "the first chance I get" to "end this trial."
