Politics Rubio: Trump impeachment trial is 'stupid'

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Sunday that he would vote to dismiss the article of impeachment against former President Trump at the earliest opportunity, calling the upcoming Senate trial detrimental to national unity.

© Bonnie Cash Rubio: Trump impeachment trial is 'stupid'

"I think the trial is stupid," Rubio said on "Fox News Sunday." "We already have a flaming fire in this country," he added, saying the trial would be "a bunch of gasoline."

"The first chance I get to vote to end this trial I'll do it," the Florida senator told Fox News's Chris Wallace.

Rubio went on to say that then-President Ford's pardon of former President Nixon after his resignation was "in hindsight important" for "moving the country forward" despite widespread consensus that Nixon had committed criminal offenses.

Is it constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president?

The Constitution is not at all clear about whether Trump remains vulnerable to impeachment. Supporters of Trump’s impeachment can point to the fact that a majority of the Senate did vote to allow impeachment proceedings to move forward. Meanwhile, opponents of Trump’s impeachment can point to Belknap’s ultimate acquittal, and to the fact that a critical minority of senators believed Belknap’s impeachment to be unlawful.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Sunday that he believes holding an impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump is constitutional, a position that puts him at odds with some of his Senate colleagues.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate agreed on Friday to push back former President Donald Trump 's impeachment trial by two weeks, giving the chamber more time to focus on President Joe Biden's legislative agenda and Cabinet nominees before turning to the contentious showdown over Trump .

"I think [Trump is] entitled to due process," Rubio added. "The House doesn't have much of a record of witnesses because they rammed it through very quickly ... I think this is going to be very bad for the country."

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) earlier in the show pushed back on claims that convicting a former president was unconstitutional, saying the "preponderance of opinion" allowed for such a conviction. Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction in the president's early 2020 impeachment trial.

Wallace went on to ask Rubio, who is up for reelection in 2022, about rumors that former White House adviser Ivanka Trump is considering a primary challenge for the Senate seat.

"I don't really get into the parlor games of Washington," Rubio said.

"I don't own the Senate seat, it doesn't belong to me," he added. "If I want to be back in the U.S Senate, I have to earn that every six years."