Nancy Mace humiliated on MSNBC after being called out for parroting incorrect impeachment claim

Republican lawmakers continue to cling to the flimsy argument that Donald Trump's second impeachment is not constitutional, and, as exemplified by a recent MSNBC appearance by Congresswoman Nancy Mace, defending it has become an exercise in cognitive dissonance.

Ms Mace was interviewed on MSNBC as part of the station's impeachment coverage and argued that "impeaching a president who is no longer a president has never been done before".

MSNBC host Craig Melvin reminded Ms Mace that Mr Trump was impeached while he was still president.

She apparently misunderstood the host's point.

"Right, this is a second impeachment trial," Ms Mace said. "We've never impeached a president who is no longer president, that's never been done in our nation's history, to my knowledge."

Republican lawmakers, especially those in the Senate, have insisted that the impeachment trial is not constitutional because Mr Trump is no longer serving as president.

Democrats, constitutional scholars and five Republican senators disagreed with the interpretation.

Republican senators are poised to use the constitution argument as a way to avoid upsetting Mr Trump's base by voting to convict him while still avoiding a direct endorsement of the former president's actions.

Later in the interview, Ms Mace repeated the false claim that Mr Trump was impeached after he was out of office. She was then challenged and corrected.

"The impeachment process as I've stated before is unconstitutional, impeaching a president who is no longer a president has never been done before in this country," she said.

MSNBC host Chuck Todd then interrupted her to challenge her statement.

"You keep saying that congresswoman, that is not the case. He was president of the United States when he was impeached. He is an impeached president even if he is convicted," he said.

He then explained that the Senate had already ruled the case was constitutional, as is its right under US law.

"He was president when he was impeached. The constitutionality question has also been answered by the US Senate, because our constitution says the following; the US Senate handles all impeachment trials. And it is up to them and they've said that this is constitutional," he said. "So, I know that it is your opinion that it is not, but now that it is deemed constitutional, and he has been impeached, what do you do?"

Ms Mace dodged answering the question directly, and instead suggested Mr Trump be tried as a private citizen in a criminal court.

"Well if prosecutors do believe he incited an attack on the Capitol, then there's a criminal court where they can file charges in this instance, would be another option," she said.

Watch: Rep. Nancy Mace - My first 100 hours in Congress 'were hell'

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