Transcript: Trump Erupts at Jamie Raskin—and Hands Dems Midterm Weapon

As Trump seethes about another possible impeachment, a congressional observer talks about all the hidden ways the next Congress can hold him accountable for his rogue presidency.

The following is a lightly edited transcript of the June 15 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here.

Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network. I’m your host, Greg Sargent.

Donald Trump just exploded in fury at Jamie Raskin, calling for him to be expelled from Congress. Trump raged that if Democrats win the House, Raskin will lead the president’s impeachment. In saying this, Trump is accidentally admitting that he cares very much about the prospect of another impeachment. In fact, he’s meanwhile reportedly trying to get Republicans to expunge his two past impeachments, indicating how much they eat away at him.

All this hands Democrats a weapon. They should say, Mr. President, if we win the House, we absolutely will hold you accountable. And that raises a question: what can a Democratic House really do to hold Trump accountable anyway? What should it look like?

We’re talking about all of it with Andy Craig, a senior editor at The Unpopulist, who often thinks creatively on this topic. Andy, good to have you on.

Andy Craig: Good to be with you, Greg.

Sargent: So let’s start with Trump’s explosion at Congressman Jamie Raskin. It kind of came out of nowhere. He posted this:

“Jamie Raskin, a Loser in Life, who worked endlessly during my First Term to impeach me, will guaranteed be trying to do it again despite one of the most successful Presidencies in history.”

Trump then continues:

“EXPEL THE BUM. Congress can never be great with people like this who suffer massively from Trump Derangement Syndrome, casting their vote of HATE!”

Andy, there’s a lot more of that. What’s your reaction?

Craig: Well, it does show that it’s certainly one of his fixations, that he is thinking already about what will happen in the next Congress. And he’s not wrong that it’s very likely he will face another impeachment trial. I think, honestly, even though we’ve seen some reluctance from Hakeem Jeffries and from some Democrats to do another impeachment, I think the pressure will be too much, because the outrages are just too many and will continue to pile on. And this is one of the tools Congress has, and it does have an effect even if you don’t get to 67 votes in the Senate.

Sargent: Exactly. And so The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump and his allies are hatching a plan to get GOP lawmakers to vote on a resolution that somehow voids Trump’s impeachments, whatever the hell they think they mean by that. Trump said this to the Journal: “It should be done because I did nothing wrong.” So he’s saying on the record that he thinks his impeachments should be expunged.

But here’s the real kicker. Several GOP lawmakers tell the Journal that such a thing would have a tough time passing. Which means some Republicans in the House don’t want to vote to expunge Trump’s impeachments.

Craig: One of the more normal aspects of this midterm is that they’re always a referendum on the president, and this president is deeply underwater on his approval ratings. So they’re making their political calculus—the last thing they want to do is be dredging up January 6, on which he is still particularly unpopular, or going down that route, or just generally having to be more associated with him.

They want to be on the attack blasting Democrats for whatever they’re going to do. They don’t want to be defending Trump right now, given where the polls are at.

Sargent: So in a way, that’s why I think that in a sense Trump’s explosion of fury at Raskin actually reveals weakness and kind of hands Democrats a weapon for the midterms. It’s really a self-own. He’s admitting that he doesn’t want a Democratic House because he will face accountability. So Democrats can say, Trump is plainly afraid of a Democratic House because it will hold him accountable—he’s admitting it himself.

And, Andy, I think Democrats should say that. Even some Republicans don’t want to vote to protect Trump. And I guarantee you, independents who are already tilting overwhelmingly against Trump right now and hate corruption really want a check on Trump and really want him held accountable. What do you think?

Craig: Right. Well, that’s the campaign strategy decision for Democrats to make in terms of........

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