U.S. Sen. Rick Scott didn’t mince words about Democrats dragging “citizen” Donald Trump through a literal Senate show trial.
The Florida Republican told conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday that the impeachment trial was not only unconstitutional but such “political theater” that it “ought to be done at the Kennedy Center.”
During the interview, Scott said he was “never fearful” for his own life, and did not hide his disdain for the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
He called their actions “horrible,” “absolutely disgusting,” and “undemocratic.” He added that they must be arrested and prosecuted. He also criticized Trump for not speaking up sooner and more forcefully to quell the riot before it got out of hand.
Yet, Scott said, there is little doubt that the trial of Trump is unconstitutional, distracts from congressional business, and sets a bad precedent for governing the nation in the future.
“The Democrats are just obsessed with Trump. I mean, Trump is not in office. I mean, he is not the president. And so why don’t the Democrats stop their obsession and focus on getting something done instead of making us sit through this unconstitutional, backward-looking, waste of time impeachment?” Scott said.
“The Democrats don’t care about getting anything done for a family. This is just pure political theater. It ought to be done at the Kennedy Center. It shouldn’t be done at the Capitol. So … I’ll be glad when this ends. I hope everybody in this country is thinking, why are the Democrats focused on the past rather than the future. This is horrible.”
Going further, the first-term senator said the proceeding sets “a horrible precedent,” and would not end with Trump. Political rivals would look for “something” just to impeach the next president.
Hewitt, noting 44 Republicans had recently rejected the idea of proceeding with the trial, asked if any GOP lawmakers had changed their minds. Scott replied not that he knew of, and then ripped into the process for being unconstitutional.
“They didn’t do any depositions. They did nothing. They just said, ‘Oh, we’ve got to impeach this guy.’ And then they sat on it. They had to rush through it. Then they sat on it. So it does nothing for an American family, and I’m disappointed with what the Democrats have done.”
“This is just a charade because the Democrats are obsessed with a prior president. This is horrible. This is a horrible precedent. And by the way, if it’s constitutional, where’s the chief justice (of the Supreme Court)? Where’s the chief justice. We have a senator running the thing.”
“How can you convict somebody on something that’s unconstitutional?” said Scott. “We’re doing an impeachment trial over a civilian.”
Scott also predicted impeachment would boomerang on Democrats, perhaps sooner rather than later. And when it does, the pressure will be on the GOP.
“Look at the precedent of this. Do you think there’s not going to be pressure on Republicans to do this when we get control of the House in two years?” he told Hewitt.
Scott then launched into Democrats for failing the American people.
“There’s nothing to help an American citizen. Nobody wins. Nobody gets help. Nobody gets a job. Nobody gets a vaccine. Nobody gets a school open. Nobody gets anything out of this,” said Scott.
“This is just political theater.”