Beto O’Rourke wants President Trump to step down from the Oval Office and to face the potential criminal consequences of his actions as commander in chief.
“For the good of the country, for the good of your political career, for any legacy that you want to be able to maintain, the right thing for you to do now is to step down,” the 2020 Democrat said Saturday, imitating the Republican senators who asked Richard Nixon to resign as president in the 1970s.
The former congressman told the audience at the Texas Tribune Festival that there is a “similar opportunity” for “members of the Senate” and those around Trump to ask him to resign too.
“So the best possible path, especially if you’re concerned about a country that’s never been more divided, perhaps more highly polarized every day, is for this president to resign,” he added. “Allow this country to heal and ensure that we come back together with the greatest, most ambitious agenda we’ve ever faced, none of it possible while he remains in power.”
When asked by moderator Garrett Haake if he would pardon Trump if he were president, O’Rourke responded, “No.”
“All right, that’s pretty straightforward,” the moderator replied.
O’Rourke, 47, has been a fierce critic of the president, centering his presidential campaign since the El Paso, Texas, mass shooting in August on the belief that President Trump is racist and harmful to the country. The former congressman has questioned the legitimacy of the 2016 presidential election and said Trump’s most recent campaign ad is propaganda.
Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry from Democrats stemming from a phone call with the Ukrainian president in which he asked the foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden, the former vice president and his possible 2020 rival, for corruption.
