‘Republicans are in a tight corner’ once TV hearings begin — and impeachment witnesses tell all: CNN’s Avlon

On Thursday morning, CNN analyst John Avlon said the Republicans who still want to defend Donald Trump will have their work cut out for them as the House impeachment inquiry comes out from behind closed doors and is televised starting next week.

Discussing the upcoming testimony from Ambassador Bill Taylor, Avlon told "New Day" hosts Alisyn Camerota and John Berman that GOP lawmakers are about to find themselves in a tough position.

"One of the things we learned from [his] testimony is he's saying, 'Look, Russia is happy about this,'" he began. "The president may think he benefits politically from this, but Vladimir Putin is benefitting geopolitically -- those are the stakes whenever dealing with Ukraine."

"With regard to the televised hearings, when the American people see something as well as read about it, it's going to have more impact. It will escalate the partisan food fight around all these witnesses," he continued. "The Republicans are in a tight corner, that doesn't mean they'll be at that critical threshold where enough senators are going to vote for removal. But this is going to ratchet up pressure on the president and elevate this further in the mind of the American people."

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