President Joe Biden says he is ‘anxious’ to see how Republicans approach former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
A reporter asked Biden if he had any thoughts on the trial after the House impeachment managers rested their case.
“I am just anxious to see what my Republican friends do, will they stand up?” Biden said on the White House lawn along with First lady Jill Biden on Friday.
Watch his response below:
President Biden on the impeachment trial of fmr. President Trump:
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 12, 2021
"I'm just anxious to see what my Republican friends do. Will they stand up." pic.twitter.com/F1xHiL37du
On Thursday, a reporter questioned Biden about whether he saw the video of the riots being presented at the trial and for his reaction, as IJR reported.
“I, like other Americans, watched the news. I didn’t watch any of the hearing live… I watched some this morning. I think the Senate has a very important job to complete and my guess is some minds may have been changed, but I don’t know,” Biden said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday was asked if Biden would watch the trial and whether he believes it should be done quickly or take a little longer to make time for witnesses and “full airing of the violence at the Capitol and Trump’s role in inciting it,” as IJR reported.
“The president himself would tell you that we keep him pretty busy, and he has a full schedule this week, which we will continue to keep you abreast of,” Psaki said.
She continued, “I think it’s clear from his schedule and from his intention he will not spend too much time watching the proceedings.”
House Democrats spent days building a case accusing Trump of inciting violence leading to the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 6.
On Wednesday, they focused on footage showing how Trump supporters stormed the building looking for former Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“President Trump put a target on their backs and then his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down,” Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) said.
Trump’s defense team will be allowed to present their case for 16 hours beginning Friday.