Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld visited the Des Moines Register editorial board Wednesday for a wide-ranging interview on foreign and domestic policy.

Here's what stood out from the interview with the former Massachusetts governor:

1. Republican inaction on impeachment would lead to 'slaughter of Republican innocents,' party schism

On impeachment, Weld argued that Trump "sought to corrupt his office by putting his own personal interest above the interest of the United States of America, which he swore to serve."

Republicans who do not acknowledge that, he said, will cause a schism in the party.

"If they dig in and say, 'we're not going to listen to anything,' I don't think the party is going to survive in its present form," Weld said. "I think there will be a slaughter of Republican innocents — and we're not all innocent — in the 2020, November 2020 election and you'll have something like the explosion of the Whig Party in the 1850s."

The Whig Party split in the mid-1850s into the "Know-Nothing" movement and the Republican Party. The Know-Nothings organized themselves against immigration and Catholics, while the Republican Party focused on preventing the spread of slavery.

"[Members of the Know-Nothing movement] had violent rallies, and they were very much given to conspiracy theories," Weld said. "They were the lineal forebearers of the Trump regime these days."

2. Killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani 'defensible,' but should have been handled differently

When asked whether he would order a killing in a situation similar to that of Trump's ordering the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Weld responded that he would.

"As for what was actually, eventually done, I think that's defensible. I think it's defensible even under international law," Weld said.

But, Weld said, he would have consulted with leaders in Congress before making such a decision.

"One thing I could tell you is that I wouldn't have done it just because I thought I was the smartest guy in the room, without talking to anyone else."

3. Supreme court pick would protect Roe v. Wade

Weld said that, if elected, it would be "very unlikely" he would appoint someone to the Supreme Court who would want to overturn Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationally.

He argued the current law on abortion is similar to what it was under "common law," before Roe v. Wade, when terminating a pregnancy was acceptable until "quickening," a term used to describe the moment a pregnant woman can first feel a fetus' movements.

"Nobody even thought about the abortion issue until Roe v. Wade was decided," he said.

4. On automation and Andrew Yang

Weld said he supports the idea of some free post-high school training for Americans facing an increasingly automated workforce.

Workplace automation has been a major focus for Democratic candidate Andrew Yang. Weld recalled with admiration an exchange on automation between former Vice President Joe Biden and Yang in a recent debate.

"It's not like Senator Biden, or Vice President Biden says, that anyone who can shovel coal can become a computer scientist. ... (The moderators) said, 'Is Joe off-base on this? Does he have this right?' Yang smiled very pleasantly and said, 'No, he does not, but Joe and I get along very well' and went on to something else."

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8041. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

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