Mo Brooks says Trump 'always' asked him to 'take Joe Biden out and put me in now'
- Rep. Mo Brooks said Trump "always" asked him to overturn the 2020 election and to remove Biden.
- Brooks criticisms come after Trump ripped his endorsement away from his Senate campaign.
Republican Rep. Mo Brooks doubled down Thursday on his claim that former President Donald Trump repeatedly pushed him to "rescind" the 2020 presidential election and remove President Joe Biden from office.
"He always brings up, 'We've got to rescind the election. We've got to take Joe Biden out and put me in now,'" Brooks told CBS 42, a local Alabama TV station.
"He still says that?" anchor Andrea Lindenberg followed up.
"Yes, and I'm going, Mr. President, ..., 'you can't do that it's unconstitutional,'" Brooks replied.
Trump withdrew his endorsement from Brook's struggling US Senate campaign on Wednesday. Trump said it was because Brooks, a staunch conservative, had turned "woke" by pointing out that it was time to move on from the 2020 election.
Brooks responded by saying Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell manipulated Trump and disclosing the former president's repeated lobbying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. (His claims about McConnell should be greeted with skepticism since McConnell and Trump have had a rather public falling out over the January 6 insurrection.)
"Given a choice between Donald Trump, who I respect, he had a lot of great policies as president, and the United States Constitution, I'm always going to choose the Constitution because that's what my oath of office is to," Brooks said. "I knew when I gave him straight-shooting legal advice that it would perturb him because that's not what he wanted to hear, and I knew it would put my endorsement at risk. But I thought it was the honorable thing to do, so I did it."
There is no mechanism to reverse or "rescind" the 2020 election. Trump's repeated claims about widespread voter fraud that affected its outcome have been examined and debunked. Biden legitimately won the election. Brooks is correct in saying removing Biden from office would be illegal and unconstitutional.
A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.