Hoyer on impeachment trial: 'I don't understand how any American believes the Senate is doing the right thing'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" Tuesday that "it's hard to wonder" why President Trump's approval ratings have reached an all-time high as his Senate impeachment trial appears set to conclude with acquittal Wednesday.
Hoyer defended the House managers' performance in the Senate trial and questioned the legitimacy of a trial that does not include witnesses.
IOWA CAUCUSES 'COMPLETE FAILURE, DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS RIPPED': FORMER TOP OBAMA ADVISER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"I don't understand how any American believes the Senate is doing the right thing," Hoyer said. " ... Nobody has seen a trial where all you have is opening arguments and closing arguments with no evidence in between. This is the first impeachment in this [country's] history that did not have witnesses."
As Trump prepares to deliver his third State of the Union address Tuesday, a new Gallup poll reveals 49 percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president, with a 94 percent approval rating among Republicans and a 42 percent rating with independents, both numbers being highs for Trump's presidency.
TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PARTY APPROVAL HIT RECORD HIGHS -- IS IMPEACHMENT HELPING POTUS?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"The American people obviously think the economy is going well," Hoyer said. "The stock market certainly is going well. Does that mean that average working people are doing well? We don't think so. As a matter of fact, wages have been going up and then they hit a brick wall."
Shifting the conversation to the Iowa caucuses, Hoyer criticized one of the many changes made to the nominating process this year after the Democratic National Committee voted to limit the influence of superdelegates back in August 2019.
"I think it was a mistake to take the vote away," Hoyer said. "We are not superdelegates. We are people who have been elected by people across the country and have a responsibility."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"To think that the party leadership -- whether it is members of Congress, the Senate, the government -- should not play a role in selecting who the President of the United States will be was not a wise decision."