Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said Friday that if Americans want to fix issues with the Supreme Court and protect their rights, the only way they can do so is by reelecting President Biden this fall.
Swalwell, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, joined MSNBC’s Ali Velshi to discuss former President Trump’s ongoing legal battles, the recent Supreme Court immunity ruling and the upcoming election.
The California Democrat said he’s been hopeful that the recent ruling will not impact the outcome of Trump’s classified documents case and warned against a second Trump administration.
“Just imagine what a second term with Donald Trump would look like. He’s already told us through Trump’s Project 2025,” Swalwell said, referring to a conservative policy agenda released earlier this month by the Heritage Foundation.
“And we saw this actually in his first term when he appointed three judges that he has in his palm and they took away a right that women have had for the last 50 years like that,” Swalwell said, referring to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. “It vanished and so, what else will be gone?”
His comments come after the high court capped its term earlier this month by determining core presidential powers are immune from criminal prosecution. The result marked a big win for Trump and returns his federal case involving efforts to overturn the 2020 election back to a lower court to determine whether his actions leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol merit the protection.
Swalwell also argued that in vitro fertilization (IVF) and gay marriage rights, among other issues, would also be gone if Trump wins reelection in November.
“He’ll send his stormtroopers out to anyone who speaks dissent,” he said. “And if you do, you’ll disappear.”
Swalwell continued, noting Biden’s job growth numbers while in office, while advocating for voters to ensure the president remains in the White House.
“There’s one person we cannot hire and that’s the bankrupt, racist felon who violently sent his friends to storm the office where he was last fires,” the congressman said. “That’s the way out, is to not let him put any more justices on the court.”
With the countdown to Election Day already ticking away, questions are swirling around Biden’s ability to not only defeat Trump but whether he has the stamina to serve another four years in office. A poor debate performance last month, where he lacked energy and stumbled over his words, have only exacerbated the concerns and have led many Democrats to call for the president to step aside.
Still, a major worry for many on the left is that if Trump is reelected, Alito and Thomas will retire on their own. That move would open up two lifetime positions for the former president to choose younger replacements, skewing the court’s majority for years to come.
Swalwell, who served as a manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial, said voters should not worry about what happened during the debate, which Biden has called a “bad episode,” but do what they can to “prevent what could happen over the next 40 years.”
He has stopped short of defending Biden as of late, but consistently warned of the threat of Trump.
“We have an opportunity to inoculate the next generation from Donald Trump and never talk about this guy in our lives again,” Swalwell said Friday.