Amy Klobuchar Says She Is Not Concerned About Possibility Of Impeachment Helping Donald Trump
In an interview with ABC News broadcast on Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar dismissed the concerns that impeachment could help President Donald Trump in 2020.
Host George Stephanopoulos pointed out the concerns regarding impeachment, noting that some polling shows that public opinion appears to be shifting, with key voting blocs seemingly no longer in favor of the inquiry.
Regardless of how the ongoing impeachment probe into Trump ends, and even if the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives votes to impeach the president, the GOP-controlled Senate is almost guaranteed to acquit him, Stephanopoulos suggested.
“Are you concerned you go forward, there’s impeachment, there’s a Senate trial, he’s acquitted, and it ends up helping the president?” he asked Klobuchar.
“No, because you had those elections taking place in the shadow of these impeachment proceedings to begin with,” the senator responded, arguing that Democrats have a “constitutional duty” to hold Trump accountable.
According to Klobuchar, regardless of what some polls say, the public understands that Trump decided to put his own interests above the interests of the country, which is why a Senate acquittal is unlikely to help him in 2020.
“Put the impeachment aside for a second. This is a president who’s constantly, George, putting his political interests, his partisan interests, his private interests in front of the country,” she said, reminding the viewers that Trump bragged about making his wealthy friends richer with his tax cut legislation.
“This is a guy that went down to Mar-a-Lago after he signed his tax bill and said to his friends, I just made you a lot richer. There’s a much bigger argument and the American people understand this,” Klobuchar said.
Stephanopoulos also pointed out that the Senate trial, which could last for weeks, would oblige Klobuchar and other senators running for president to spend time off the campaign trail.
The congresswoman reasserted that it is a “constitutional duty” to be present at the trial, sharing details about her campaign. She revealed that her campaign is doubling the number of offices in Iowa, and expanding their operations in Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Republicans have suggested that the apparent shift in public opinion could change Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s mind. According to them, Pelosi — who has not guaranteed that she will approve a vote — could censure Trump, instead of impeaching him.
Pelosi long resisted calls from impeachment coming from more progressive members of her caucus, finally deciding to launch a formal investigation once the Ukraine scandal broke.
According to House Democrats, Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to launch investigations into his political opponents.
