Rep. Al Green (D-TX) claimed on Thursday that President Donald Trump can also be impeached for “incompetent behavior” that is “harmful to society,” including Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policies and “bigoted” African agenda.
Speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, Green asked the audience to go to dictionary.com and focus on the second definition of “misdemeanor”: “an instance of misbehavior; misdeed.”
He said the most important word in “high crimes and misdemeanors” is “misdemeanor” and, as he has done in the past, insisted that there is “no requirement that there be any crime” for Trump to be impeached.
Green said Trump’s “incompetent behavior is harmful to society,” and said that “incompetent behavior” must be added to the list of impeachable offenses. He mentioned Trump’s “S-hole countries” remarks about “some countries in Africa, in the Caribbean, in South America.”
“You produce a work product that is harmful to African countries. That’s a link between his bigoted commentary and policy that has been produced. Policy rooted in bigotry,” Green said. He also blasted Trump for telling police officers that “you don’t have to be nice” to criminal suspects and said Trump’s remarks amounted to a “quasi-policy.”
“Then children on the border of color,” Green continued. “You produce a policy that separates them from their parents. When I add all of this together, a person who is placing his bigotry into policy that is harmful to our society. And for that he ought to be impeached.”
Green said he is hoping for a “November that will be a November to remember” that will provide Democrats with at least 218 votes. He said he hoped that the Judiciary Committee will then at “least take up an inquiry” regarding impeachable offenses.
When asked who gets to decide whether Trump has harmed society, Green said Representatives who were elected by “we the people… to serve in Congress to represent you” ultimately get to determine whether Trump should be impeached.
“And if you don’t like what we do… then you can take us out of office,” Green said. “But until that is done… We the people who have elected Representatives will make the decision.”