Recent comments from special counsel Robert Hur have got people talking: Will President Biden be removed from office using the 25th Amendment? Is his mental agility actually deteriorating — and if it is, will Democrats do anything? Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joins Glenn to discuss the possibility, as well as an often-overlooked fact: Vice President Kamala Harris would have to initiate the 25th Amendment removal procedure and Biden’s Cabinet would have to agree. Sen. Schmitt also discusses the possibility that the Senate will remove DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from office: “He’s obviously lied before Congress.”
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Welcome, Senator Schmidt.
How are you?
ERIC: I'm good, Glenn. How are you?
GLENN: Good. I have a couple things to ask you. One that everyone is asking. And I'm sorry that I have to bring this up.
But is there any relation between you and John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt?
ERIC: Well, his name is my name too.
GLENN: Okay. All right. Good.
(laughter)
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Good.
So the -- first of all, let's start with the Mayorkas thing. It's coming now to the Senate. Late February. According to Schumer.
And, I mean, I think there's plenty of reasons for him to be impeached.
One is just -- just lying to the American people, over and over again.
In front of Congress.
Under testimony. Under oath. That the border was secure when it clearly wasn't.
But is this going anywhere in the Senate.
ERIC: We'll see. Schumer issued a statement yesterday, the process when it comes over, the House managers will literally walk it over. It's received by the Senate. What's supposed to happen, all the senators that are immediately sworn in as jurors.
And we act as jurors in the trial. Now, I suppose Schumer can try some sort of -- some trickery to sort of table it or dismiss it, or something.
The way it's supposed to work. We're supposed to hear evidence, and ultimately make a decision. Now it would take a supermajority, not a simple majority, to convict.
GLENN: Right.
ERIC: So we'll see if the Democrats ultimately sort of, you know, rally here. But I do think there's a lot at play.
I mean, one of the things, in this debate, about this border security. So-called border security bill, which is a total disaster. It actually made things worse. And weakens our immigration laws. One of the things on the books right now, is ability for parole, right? You can parole people in the United States. It's supposed to be extraordinary. It's supposed to be individualized. A case-by-case sort of basis. You know, Mayorkas in this administration, have paroled an entire class of people, just because they're from a particular part of the country. That's a clear violation of the law. He obviously lied before Congress. And so we'll see what those articles and impeachment looked like, and then as jurors make a decision make a decision based on the facts and the evidence in, you know, upholding our oath.
GLENN: So there has been so much going on. I mean, I listened to the news this morning.
And it is all about the different cases, against Donald Trump.
We have -- I mean, law fair is the way of the future, it seems.
ERIC: You know, this is -- I wish the Democrats would take their blue jerseys off for a minute. And look at this, in a way of, how does this affect our republic long-term?
We have never, Glenn, never seen anything like this.
I think Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. These people have completely lost their minds. And are willing to do almost anything, to not allow the American people to send Donald Trump back to the White House. Because I think that's exactly what would happen.
And I think he will win in November. I think they know that. And I think that that's why this desperation in DC is playing out. Whether it's kicked him off the ballot. I think that case was argued early last week, before the Supreme Court. I would expect them to rule quickly on that. And hopefully, voice unanimously. There's just no legal basis, for him to be thrown off by the state of Colorado. Or any state.
Which is not. That's one piece of it. And then trying to throw this guy in jail, for the rest of his life. It's totally -- totally insane.
This is the kind of stuff, Glenn. If it were happening somewhere else, you know, our State Department would be warning us about it.
This is banana republic kind of stuff.
GLENN: Yeah. All right.
So let me switch to the 20th Fifth Amendment.
They tried to do this to Donald Trump. And the media brought on experts. And everything else.
How senile Donald Trump was getting, et cetera, et cetera.
Obviously, not true.
This one, you can see.
I mean, this is not a conspiracy at all.
This isn't made up.
This, you can witness firsthand. And it is terrifying, as a citizen, to watch a man, in charge.
But I don't know if he's actually in charge. I don't know who is running the White House.
But normally, no matter who it was, right or left. I would be raising the same alarm saying, this is dangerous.
But we also have a replacement, who Kamala Harris is -- I don't know if she would be any better.
You know, she would at least be alert and there.
But I don't know how good she would be.
But the 25th Amendment has to be invoked by the vice president. Right?
And the cabinet?
GLENN: That's right. The majority of the cabinet. So the president under the 25th Amendment, can do it his or her herself. I mean, that's not going to happen.
Or initiated by the vice president. Voted by a majority of cabinet members, essentially.
And then that goes to the House and the Senate. Now, there's a little back and forth, theoretically, that's played out between the president saying, no.
I am confident. No. You're not confident.
And ultimately, it would go to the House and the Senate for a two-thirds vote, ultimately, to remove or temporarily transfer, powers, to the vice president.
So it's obviously -- it's an extraordinary kind of thing to have happen.
Because you have someone, you know, elected to be president.
So that's why you have that kind of high bar and that high threshold.
However, I don't think, Glenn, we have not seen anything like this. I mean, the president -- you know, in these interviews. As it relates to the document case. Couldn't remember when he was vice president.
Couldn't remember the years, in which he served as vice president of the United States.
People see this playing out every day, as he struggles to get through sentences. Walking from place to place.
You know, falling. All of these sorts of things. In very plain view.
And, by the way, I don't take any pleasure in that. There's no joy in that.
GLENN: No. Sad.
ERIC: You know -- yeah, it's sad.
And that trajectory of age and decline is not the same for everybody. But clearly, you see a precipitous decline now in his capabilities. And that deposition was probably a case in point.
Which is why we need to see a full transfer to that.
Because there are only bits and pieces, in that report that came out.
It's not good. It's a real problem.
To your earlier point, Kamala Harris is a nightmare. And a total ideologue. Who is not all that bright.
But if you're talking about --
GLENN: She's competent.
ERIC: Yeah. She's mentally competent.
GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. You know, the only time we have seen something like this, it was kept under wraps. And it was Woodrow Wilson.
But they hid it. They hid it from Congress.
But once his own party. I think he was in hiding at the White House for like a year.
And his wife was actually signing all of the things, from the White House.
And once his own party, the democratic party found out, they said, you're done.
You're not running for reelection. Because he -- she was planning on him running for reelection.
You're not running for reelection. Or we expose the whole thing.
And it was -- it was about this time.
That they had come to them.
It was this close, I think to an election. When they finally came to them.
I don't think -- is there anybody -- I mean, do you hear senators talk about this?
On the other side?
And say, this is dangerous?
ERIC: Yeah. I think that they -- they will tell you that this was not the same Joe Biden.
Certainly, that they served with.
Some people that served with him. Or even just a few years ago.
It's just not. It's not. It's obvious. To your point. With Woodrow Wilson. Who I would argue, is probably our worst president in American history.
GLENN: Oh. Give me the Valentine's Day music, will you? This guy shot an arrow through my heart. That was my Valentine's Day gift from you, wasn't it?
ERIC: Yes. Woodrow Wilson is terrible. But, yeah --
GLENN: Yeah.
(laughter)
ERIC: But, yeah. His wife was essentially doing everything at the very end. And it's amazing, that in 20th century America that actually happened.
So, yeah. People get it. People see it.
You know, people who serve with them. People who have been in the Oval Office.
Talking with him.
Right now. It's really a mess.
But I don't know if anybody can go.
There's betting odds of whether he'll end up being the nominee.
He's not willingly giving this up.
He's running. Now, I think the Obama's have a lot to do with what's actually going on in the White House.
And I know there's a theory, that Michelle Obama could be put in place, at the convention.
GLENN: Hang on. Start the music again.
You may be singing music to my ears again. Go ahead. What's going to happen there?
ERIC: Michelle Obama could be playing -- you know, at the last minute here. We'll see. But Joe Biden is not -- is not willingly going softly into that good night.
GLENN: No. No.
So if he doesn't -- I mean, they're trapped. They're really trapped.
Because there's no way that guy will win. I mean, he'll be -- think about how fast he's declined recently to now.
Imagine from now until November. From November to January, I just don't think the guy is going to make it.
ERIC: Yeah. I agree. So there's two things outside of a typical -- like if you're comparing President Trump's record to Joe Biden's record. You would say, hey, look, we have a secure border.
We had wage growth, across all socioeconomic levels. We're energy dominant.
A lot of great things were happening, right? You didn't like them, whatever.
But the truth is, America was doing great then. We had no wars. That's what America was for his presidency.
All that stuff is very different now, under Joe Biden.
So under a typical campaign, people will compare, I think Trump wins, anyway.
You have a couple things happening now that are very different. One I think is this law fair, it's backfired.
We talked about it earlier.
It's really backfired. People see it. They know it's dangerous.
And I think that will be a motivation for people to say, we're not going to allow that to happen in this country.
There's no way, we will be able to descend in this third world banana republic. Where you're eliminating -- disenfranchising millions of people that way. And secondly, there's this competency thing. People see it.
And if you're an independent voter, and you haven't made up your mind.
Compare those two -- you know, the schedule that Donald Trump has.
Because his energy, versus, what you see now. From Joe Biden.
Is a stark contrast. And I think that's why.
Especially in states like Michigan.
You're seeing this polling. I think that's part of it.
GLENN: Senator Eric Schmidt. One of the good guys in Washington, DC.
Thank you for everything that you do and have done, and will continue to do. God bless you. Thank you.
ERIC: God bless you.