HHS Secretary Alex Azar Refuses to Say Whether Trump is Fit For Office on Live Television

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar struggled when asked if President Donald Trump should remain in office after inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Azar gave an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Tuesday morning, who immediately turned the conversation towards the renewed push for Trump’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and relieve him of duty.

“Do you believe the president is able to discharge the duties of his office?” Stephanopoulos asked.

Azar said the insurrection at the Capitol was an “assault on democracy,” but he sidestepped the core question with a call for a peaceful transfer of power. Stephanopoulos stayed on the topic by noting that Trump faces impeachment if not removed through the 25th Amendment.

“I repeat the question: do you believe what the president did last week showed that he is able to discharge the duties of his office or not?” He asked.

“George, the rhetoric last week was unacceptable,” Azar responded. “I’m not going to get into or discuss the 25th Amendment here. I’m committed to seeing this through in my role as health secretary during a pandemic to ensure that vaccines and therapeutics get out to the American people and to ensure a smooth hand-off to President-Elect Biden’s team.”

Stephanopoulos tried one more time by asking Azar if he has spoken to other cabinet members about their reported conversations on the 25th Amendment.

“It would not be appropriate for me to discuss my conversations with colleagues or with the president and vice president,” Azar said.

Watch above, via ABC.

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