There may only be days left of Donald Trump’s presidency.
But MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow still thinks there’s a chance that Trump – who now faces being impeached for a second time for inciting last week’s Capitol riot – may resign before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
But Trump wouldn’t leave the White House for the good of the US, Maddow said on her show on Monday. Instead, she suggested it would be a last-ditch effort by Trump to save himself from criminal prosecution.
“I can hear you, I can see you giving me the hand on this. ‘Oh, please, Maddow, as if? This guy feels no shame. He would never resign. Something for the good of the country, he’s incapable.’ I know. I hear you,” she acknowledged.
Maddow noted that the article of impeachment being brought against Trump by Democrats – incitement to insurrection – is also a criminal charge that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban from holding office.
Trump has floated the idea of pardoning himself before leaving the White House, but has reportedly been cautioned against doing so by former attorney general Bill Barr and White House lawyer Pat Cipollone.
But if Trump “were to resign from office now, in exchange for (Vice President) Mike Pence pardoning him, well, that would work,” speculated Maddow.