Marco Rubio Slams ‘Arrogant’ Democrats, Says Donald Trump Impeachment Trial Is ‘Stupid’
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida described the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump as “stupid” and slammed Democratic Party politicians.
The House of Representatives impeached Trump last week, claiming that he incited an insurrection against the U.S. government when he told his supporters to storm the Capitol building and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s trial in the U.S. Senate will start next month, but it remains unclear how many Republicans are open to defecting and convicting the former commander-in-chief.
Speaking with anchor Chris Wallace, Rubio argued that the push to convict Trump could further divide the American people and inflame partisan passions.
“Well, first of all, I think the trial is stupid. It’s counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country, and it’s like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire.”
Rubio noted that former President Richard Nixon, who was also impeached, received a pardon from his successor Gerald Ford, which allowed the country to move forward. He suggested that Democrats should drop the impeachment issue altogether and focus on solving ongoing crises.
“All I’m arguing is we have some really important things to work on… We’re gonna jump right back into what we’ve been going through for the last five years, and stirring it up again… it’s just going to be bad for the country,” Rubio opined.
Rubio said that it was “arrogant” for Democrats to pursue a conviction in order to bar Trump from ever holding office again and argued that voters, not politicians, should decide Trump’s fate.
The Florida Republican pointed out that Trump got 75 million votes in the 2020 election and argued that the GOP needs to find a way to keep Trump’s base while at the same time reaching out to voters who voted for the Democratic Party in November because they didn’t like the former president’s tone and behavior.
Marco Rubio acknowledges Trump "bears responsibility" for the Capitol insurrection, but insists holding him accountable with an impeachment trial is the wrong move because it'll "stir up" the country again pic.twitter.com/egtvNAgrS8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 24, 2021
As The Inquisitr reported, some Democrats are considering using the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to prevent Trump from running again. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senators Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine have all suggested that they would be open to invoking the constitutional mechanism if Republicans refuse to convict.
Per CNN, multiple Republicans have publicly said that they expect most of their colleagues to acquit Trump, which suggests that Schumer and others simply don’t have the votes to convict him.
