John Brennan suggests the State of the Union should be canceled because of the impeachment trial

Former CIA Director John Brennan suggested that the State of the Union Address should be canceled, because to go forward with the event in the midst of (or soon after) impeachment would be an "embarrassment" to the nation.

Brennan, an analyst for MSNBC, said the president is likely to use the speech to talk about himself rather than the state of America.

"One of the things that I really worry about is that we're going to have the State of the Union very shortly, while all this is going on," Brennan said.

"Is the state of our union strong? Who in the hell is gonna say that?" host Chuck Todd interjected.

"I cannot imagine," Brennan continued. "It's not just embarrassing, but it's also destructive to the image of the United States worldwide, to have this going on and to have Mr. Trump up there. And you can imagine he's going to use that State of the Union address not to address the state of the union, but to address the state of Donald Trump. And he is, I think, going to be on the offensive there.

"So I question whether or not it makes sense to hold that, at this point," Brennan concluded.

Impeachment is set to wrap up as early as Friday, and as late as potentially Monday, depending on how long closing arguments and debate associated with votes go. Republicans have the votes to prevent new witnesses, and they surely have the votes to acquit the president on both charges.

The State of the Union is scheduled for Tuesday. Despite Brennan's concerns that the president might use the speech as a victory lap or a way to attack Democrats, early reports suggest Trump is going to use the speech to refocus the nation on what his presidency has done for the country as the 2020 election approaches.

"There's always an expectation that he can't rise to the occasion, or that he will make an off-the-cuff remark or do something that takes away from the moment, but those predictions are always wrong and they will be this year, too," a senior White House official told Politico about the possibility of an impeachment-focused State of the Union.