MSNBC correspondent Donny Deutsch says that impeachment isn’t enough for Donald Trump; the “criminal president” should be in jail, he said, as National Interest reports. And Democrats shouldn’t “play fair” to get him there.
Speaking to the network’s Morning Joe program, Deutsch made it clear what he thinks Democrats need to do in order to beat Trump in 2020: fight dirty. Referencing Michelle Obama’s famous “when they go low, we go high” quote, Deutsch said that going high is not an option.
“We are playing against cheaters and liars or stealers … we’ve got to do whatever we have to do,” he said.
Trump has often referred to his political adversaries with nicknames, such as “Sleepy Joe” for Joe Biden, or “Crooked Hillary” for Hillary Clinton. Taking a page out of Trump’s book, Deutsch suggested that Democrats, rather than calling him “President Trump,” call him “Criminal Trump.” Host Joe Scarborough had himself suggested a nickname for Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky: “Moscow Mitch,” a point which Deutsch referenced in the segment.
As for reclaiming the White House in 2020, Deutsch suggested that Democrats use fear as a weapon; fear of another four years of Donald Trump, and of undoing the progressive gains made over the past few decades.
“We cannot bring a knife fight to a bazooka gunfight,” he said.
Donny Deutsch is perfectly named. tell me this isn’t the most German looking man alive pic.twitter.com/IrGgCdoG65
— iPad Expert (@ByYourLogic) June 27, 2019
Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising point in the segment came when Deutsch suggested what should happen beyond the 2020 election, which he hopes will be won by a Democrat: he wants to see Donald Trump in jail.
“We may not have won the battle of impeachment, but we’re going to win the war of putting him in jail,” Deutsch said. Deutsch suggested that Trump “has twice been an un-indicted criminal.” Deutsch did not specify which two instances he was referring to.
Whether or not Donald Trump will ever face any criminal charges for his actions before, or during, his term in office is far from clear. As Politifact notes, even if there’s ample evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the consensus among legal scholars is that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted while in office; he must be impeached and removed from office first.
However, during this week’s testimony by FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Mueller did seem to suggest that Trump could be criminally indicted after he leaves office. Similarly, as The Hill reports, former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi also said that he believes Trump could be criminally indicted once he leaves office.
