Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded late Tuesday night to the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, calling it both “reminiscent of Shakespeare” and “doomed to fail.”
Tuesday afternoon marked the start of Trump’s historic second impeachment trial, offering both the prosecution and the defense their first opportunity to address the full Senate. The question of the day centered on the constitutionality of impeaching a former president, and ultimately culminated in a 56-44 vote in favor of moving forward with the proceedings.
After the long day, Cruz was not shy in making his thoughts on the subject known. Speaking in an interview with Fox’s Hannity, the proud Texan lamented on the trial, “this is political theater,” going on to say, “rather than address the real problems, the real challenges we have in this country, rather than focus on getting kids back in school and getting tens of millions of Americans back to work. The Democrats want a week of just political theater raging at Donald Trump.”
Going further into detail in a column for Fox News, the senator explained his vote against Tuesday’s final resolution to proceed, writing of the House investigation, “It conducted no hearings. It examined no evidence. It heard not a single witness,” and it occurred “in a mere seven days.”
While the Constitution invests the Senate with the “sole power” to try impeachments, Sen. Cruz explains that having the sole power does not mandate the use of that said power. Cruz points out that in this case, “the House has impeached without evidence or Due Process,“ leading to a Senate trial that “fails to meet the legal standard.”
Sen. Cruz himself became a beacon for criticism after his part as a vocal leader backing the challenging of electoral votes on January 6. His position, based on historical precedence, called for the creation of a Senate committee to investigate the undeniable allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Unsurprisingly, the nuance of his position was predictably abandoned for more flashy fictions. Moreover, his critics have largely ignored his January 6 tweet calling for peace.
Those storming the Capitol need to stop NOW.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 6, 2021
The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence—from Left or Right— is ALWAYS wrong.
And those engaged in violence are hurting the cause they say they support.
Ultimately, with the former president’s impeachment declared constitutional, the trial will continue this week with both sides making their case, each having 16 hours across two days to do so.
It’s clear America is embarking on another divisive journey that is both largely dishonest, and entirely unnecessary. The riots on January 6 were horrid and unacceptable and a partisan trial will not help. Two things can be true at once.