President Joe Biden dodged questions Tuesday on Donald Trump‘s impeachment trial, saying he didn’t want to talk about his predecessor in the Oval Office anymore.
Biden dismissed Trump with a quick quip during his CNN town hall meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
‘Look – for four years, all that’s been in the news is Trump. The next four years, I want to make sure all the news is the American people. I’m tired of talking about Trump,’ he said.
He also spoke of Trump derisively during the 75 minute event, calling him ‘the former guy.’
Additionally, Biden refused to talk about Republicans who voted to acquit the former president in his second impeachment trial, refusing to answer if he felt they were ‘cowards’ as Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested.
‘I’m not going to call names out,’ the president said.
He also declined to talk about possible federal investigations of Trump for his actions in relation to the MAGA riot on Capitol Hill.
‘Their prosecutorial decisions will be left to the Justice Department, not me,’ Biden said of his Justice Department.
The Biden administration has deliberately avoided questions about Trump and his second impeachment trial, saying their focus is on the coronavirus pandemic and passing relief legislation.
But questions have been raised as to whether Trump could face criminal charges for inciting the insurrection, which left five dead when MAGA rioters stormed the Capitol building.
Karl Racine, the attorney general for Washington, D.C., has said district prosecutors could charge Trump under local law that criminalizes statements that motivate people to violence.
But the charge would be a low-level misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of six months in jail.
Federal prosecutors in Washington, meanwhile, have charged some 200 Trump supporters with crimes related to the riot, including more serious conspiracy charges. Many of the people charged said they acted in Trump’s name.
But the bar is very high to charge Trump with any crimes related to the riot. There has been no indication that Trump would be charged in the riot though prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles.
Trump could also be sued by victims, though he has some constitutional protections, including if he acted while carrying out the duties of president.