Politics Marco Rubio: It's 'arrogant' to impeach Trump to ban him from running again

Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday said the argument that former President Donald Trump should be impeached so that he can’t seek public office again is “an arrogant statement for anyone to make.”

© Joe Raedle/Pool via AP Sen. Marco Rubio shot down the argument that the former president should be impeached to prevent him from running again as "arrogant."

When “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace asked the senator about the idea that Trump should be impeached to ban him from running for office again, the Florida Republican quickly shot down the argument.

“I think that's an arrogant statement for anyone to make. Voters get to decide that. Who are we to tell voters who they can vote for in the future?” Rubio said. Trump's second Senate impeachment trial starts Feb. 8, and a conviction would disqualify him from running for president ever again.

GOP Rep Who Voted With Trump 94% of the Time Says His Vote To Impeach 'Hurts My Heart'

Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) reportedly said that the decision vote in favor of President Donald Trump's second impeachment after years as a staunch Trump supporter "hurts my heart."Rice was one of 10 Republicans who on Wednesday joined Democrats to vote in favor of Trump's impeachment for allegedly inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Only two days earlier, Rice had indicated that he did not support the impeachment. In an interview with the Associated Press published Thursday, Rice noted that his decision to impeach came after years of supporting the outgoing president.

The impeachment articles against Donald Trump will formally go the to Senate in mere days. But as MSNBC’ s Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber explains, Trump ’ s second impeachment will be different from his last. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is now in charge

It ' s like Rubio was a robot the entire time and the candidacy just took a joined effort in pulling the plug. Also it showed that Trump stands tall and defends himself under pressure, plus it added to Trumps whole It ' s good news for Hilary though - if this is all it takes she can run circles around him.

Legal scholars, including members of the conservative Federalist Society, have presented this disqualification argument, countering Republicans who say that impeaching Trump after he has left office would be unconstitutional. The scholars wrote in a letter on Thursday that the Constitution’s impeachment power must be extended to former officials who could try to run for reelection.

Senate Democrats are expected to vote to convict Trump, arguing that he incited deadly violence after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. But at least 17 Republicans would need to join all Democrats for Trump to be convicted, and GOP senators have recently united around a bid to shut down the impeachment trial.

Rubio echoed that argument on “Fox News Sunday,” saying the impeachment trial is “counterproductive” and will “continue to fuel these divisions that have paralyzed the country.”

“The first chance I get to vote to end this trial, I will do it, because I think it's really bad for America,” he said.