Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been facing criticism since the Capitol Riot on January 6. But it did not stop him from to make outrageous comments on the impeachment trial. During his recent appearance on Fox News, the Republican suggested that former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama could be impeached like Donald Trump.
Trump, who is the first president in the country to be impeached twice, is expected to face the trial in February. The 45th president was impeached in January after allegedly encouraging a riot at the US Capitol to disrupt the certification process of President Joe Biden's election victory. In December 2019, Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of justice but he was acquitted of both charges by the senate.
Cruz told Fox News host Sean Hannity that Democrats "hate Donald Trump" and their urgency of impeaching the former US leader was an "exercise in political rage."
'They Wanted to Impeach Trump'
The Texas senator said: "Look, these are the same Democrats who four years ago in 2017—actually, in December of 2016 before Trump was sworn in—said they wanted to impeach him. They have wanted to impeach him from the beginning. They did it a year ago."
He said it felt like he was trapped in the Bill Murray time-loop comedy Groundhog Day where in every January there will be an impeachment. "I guess next year, I don't know, maybe it will be the impeachment of Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton or Barack Obama because that is what we do in Januaries," he told the Fox News host.
The last time a president faced impeachment was when President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998. His presidency was plagued with repeated attacks from the Republicans. Clinton was charged with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. But he was acquitted by the Senate in February 1999.
The Capitol Riot and Criticism
When the Congressional proceedings were going on to confirm the Electoral College votes on January 6, along with a few more Republicans, Cruz stepped forward to challenge Arizona's electoral vote. He was one of those senators who supported Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged and voter fraud was conducted to make Biden the President of the US.
Cruz told Fox News at the time he believed that he had an obligation to protect the integrity of the election and the democratic system. In a statement, he said: "What I was doing and what the other senators were doing is what we were elected to do, which is debating matters of great import in the chamber of the US Senate."
The confirmation proceeding was interrupted by violent pro-Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6. That incident forced some lawmakers to hide inside the building until the riot could be quelled.
However, Trump's second impeachment stemmed from his alleged involvement in the riot. On the day of the Capitol riot, he gave a speech to his supporters at the Washington DC "Stop the Steal" rally. He said: "We fight like hell and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."
The riot led to the death of five people including a police officer Brian D. Sicknickm, who died on January 7 due to injuries sustained while on-duty. While GOP senators Cruz and Josh Hawley of Missouri faced massive criticism for objecting to the certification process even after the violent attack, there were some Republicans who dropped their challenge. Some also alleged that Cruz was partially responsible for the violence at the Capitol. Some of his colleagues in Congress also want him to be expelled.
