'He has failed us': Airman breaks silence after arrest over Trump impeachment
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson and CNN's Erin Burnett on CNN's "OutFront" / CNN screenshot
August 17, 2026
A U.S. airman who was recently arrested at the Capitol after calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment spoke out on CNN in his first interview since being released.
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson joined CNN's Erin Burnett on "OutFront" to discuss his arrest and the impact he hopes his statements against the Trump administration will have. Watson told Burnett that he is facing a court-martial for his statement, which he made while dressed in full uniform, and a host of other legal challenges that could upend his life.
Even so, Watson said it is important to speak out against Trump, whom he considered to be a "failure" of a president.
"He has failed us. And not only is he a failure as president, but he is also flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaging in rampant corruption, and killing Americans," Watson said. "And that isunacceptable to me. And itshould be unacceptable to all ofus. I feel like, unfortunately, many of us have gotten used to this, and we've normalized this conduct, and we think that there's nothing that we can do about it."
Calls to impeach Trump have increased in recent weeks. Over the weekend, a report indicated that the White House had planned to retaliate against Colorado if the state did not release convicted election denier Tina Peters, which caused the impeachment calls to ramp up.
Watson said that pressure needs to increase going forward.
"I want to justinspire people and bring theconversation to impeach,convict, remove," Watson said.
"I believe we candefeat this government if wejust take a stand," he added.