Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said Wednesday that if he were a Democrat he would hope that former President Donald Trump would be able to run for office again to “better” Democrats’ election chances.
Cramer appeared on MSNBC’s special coverage of Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, alongside hosts Stephanie Ruhle, Hallie Jackson, and Katy Turn. Ruhle began by claiming that the impeachment trial is not holding up any of President Joe Biden’s plans for his first 100 days and asked Cramer what the consequences for Trump should be for “ramping up the rhetoric” about the 2020 election. (RELATED: Jake Tapper Believes Nothing ‘Would Be Different’ In The Senate If Pence Was Killed In Riot)
“First of all, remember the president has already lost the election, so he’s been removed from office and this happened subsequent, obviously, to that,” Cramer responded.
“In terms of the responsibility he bears, it’s interesting that the one thing that the Senate impeachment, at trial or conviction, can do is make sure that he can’t ever run again or hold another office, but reality is given what’s happened it’s probably highly likely he couldn’t anyway. In fact, if I was a Democrat, I’d probably hope that he could because I think it makes their chances perhaps better, given their arguments,” he continued.
Trump’s trial began on Tuesday after he was impeached in January for allegedly inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. A 67 vote majority is needed to convict Trump, which is seen as unlikely since a majority of Republicans previously voted that the trial should be dismissed because it is unconstitutional.
Trump has hinted privately that he would be interested in running for president again in the future, according to Axios.
His alleged responsibility concerning the riot caused his public standing outside the Republican party to tumble, and he left office with the lowest approval rating of his presidency.
If the Senate votes to convict, Trump will no longer be eligible to run for any federal office.
Many Republicans have questioned the validity and purpose of the trial due to the fact that Trump is no longer in office. Republicans have also claimed that the trial undermines Biden’s call for unity across the country and stops the Senate from moving forward on bipartisan legislation.
Some Democrats have said they would like to remove the ability for Trump to run for office again, citing their belief that he is complicit in the attack on the Capitol, for which he was impeached while he was still president.
“The other thing I would say to your point about nothing is being held up, it actually is being held up. For one week the Senate cannot deal with anything. We cannot deal with anything other than this impeachment,” Cramer continued. “So we’re not going to have a vote on anything. We’re not going to be able to vote on budget reconciliation. Nancy Pelosi sent the House home for another extra week. Things are being held up and being delayed.”