MSNBC's Joy Reid attempted to badger Democratic Rep. Sean Maloney of New York in an angry exchange about his reticence to support impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

"First of all, do you believe that Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses?" Reid asked.

Maloney tried to answer but she interrupted, whereupon he said that he believed Trump deserved impeachment.

"The Constitution doesn't anticipate that Congress shall discharge its duty to impeach a president who has committed high crimes and misdemeanors only if it's electorally convenient," Reid pressed, "it says that that is your duty!"

"So if you believe he deserves it," she continued, "if you don't do it for this president, what president would be eligible for impeachment? What would he have to do?"

"Joy," Maloney responded, "ask yourself this question, why are the Republicans so eager for us to impeach the president?

"And it doesn't say I have a duty to impeach the president..." he said.

"If you believe that he committed high crimes and misdemeanors," she interrupted.

"Excuse me, I don't believe the word 'duty' is in the Constitution," Maloney interjected, "I think that I am elected to use my brain and to be smart about this, to represent my district, to hold the president accountable, I think that's the right thing to do."

"And to do that in a way that is effective for goodness' sake," he added, "and that gets this country going in a real direction."

Maloney chided Reid by adding that impeachment "might feel pretty good" but that it may not work out in the end.



The Democratic party appears to be divided on the issue, with some like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) affirming that Trump should be impeached.

Democratic leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (N.Y.) on the other hand, said impeachment was not worth the trouble after the release of the Mueller report, which echoed a similar sentiment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-N.Y.).

Here's the video of the debate on MSNBC: