As the Senate considers whether to remove Donald Trump from office, there's more at stake in his trial than one man's political fate.

Four senators seen as swing votes on President Trump's impeachment asked the president's lawyers Thursday if they could guarantee he would not use private Americans to conduct foreign policy.

The question, submitted by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on behalf of herself and fellow Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and GOP Sens. Susan ...

(Bloomberg) -- The question was straightforward: What does Andrew Yang think about the presidential candidates who are off the Iowa campaign trail to attend President Donald Trump’s impeachment?The answer was anything but.“I think it should be the decisive criterion,” he deadpanned Wednesday at a Bloomberg News reporters roundtable in Des Moines. “I think that if you haven’t been in the state every weekday for the two weeks before the caucuses, that you’re not truly committed to the people of Iowa or this race and voters should take that into account.”Yang’s sense of humor is as dry as the wintry air in Iowa.The Democratic presidential candidate and newcomer to politics uses jokes to warm up crowds of supporters, prove his bona fides as an outsider and disarm confrontational questions from reporters. It’s a subtle rhetorical technique that experts say allows him to run a political race without seeming like a politician.Jennifer Mercieca, a rhetoric professor at Texas A&M University, said that it’s a common habit among members of Generation X, who tend toward a running commentary on things as they’re doing them. By pointing out when he’s doing something political, she said, he makes himself seem above the process.“He’s running as an outsider, and part of the appeal of the outsider is authenticity,” she said. “So he ‘tells on’ himself.”During the hourlong roundtable in Des Moines, Yang frequently used light humor, demonstrating the various ways he uses it.At one point, Yang was asked about the Democratic National Committee’s criteria for debates.He had complained about the rules in January, when he didn’t make the debate stage. But Yang said Wednesday that he had been concerned about the lack of polls over the holidays and he did not have similar criticism about the February debate. A reporter pointed out that, unlike in January, he has already qualified for that debate.“That’s part of it for sure,” he said. “I’m sure I’d have something to complain about if I wasn’t.”Mercieca said another politician who uses that trick is Trump, who frequently remarks at rallies that as a politician he’s not supposed to say something because it’s not politically correct. Sometimes he then says it anyway, and at other times he just alludes to it.“Using irony can be very strategic for avoiding accountability,” she said.At times, Yang sounds like he is just having fun, like a normal person who’s unexpectedly found himself in the middle of an absurd experience.He told reporters that he believes that’s the secret to his success. As a first-time candidate, he says he didn’t hire the “entire array of consultants” who come in with poll-tested messaging aimed at “certain demographics.” He said his campaign started with himself and “three crazy guys.”When a reporter at the roundtable asked if he or his vice president would allow their children to sit on a corporate board, referring to Hunter Biden’s job on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while Joe Biden was vice president, Yang responded with a quip.“My kids are 7 and 4, so I would not allow them to -- unless it was, like, a really cool company,” he said. Then he answered seriously by saying the culture of a Yang administration would not produce a similar scenario.He also was asked if he was reaching out to other campaigns about adopting his proposal for a universal basic income in exchange for an endorsement.“Yeah, I text them every day and I say, ‘What about that thousand dollars a month for everyone?’” he said.While talking about whether presidential candidates need foreign policy experience, he cracked a joke to argue that temperament is more important.He recalled 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton’s ad that asked voters to consider whether they would want any candidate but her, including rival Barack Obama, “to answer that 3 a.m. phone call.”“We all looked up and were like, ‘Yeah, I’m OK with that,’” he said.Still, there’s a reason why presidents have to watch their words. A single sentence can move markets, spook foreign governments or get them in hot water.While discussing the coronovirus outbreak in China, Yang said he would meet with leaders of the Centers for Disease Control to discuss tactics like quarantining people who have been exposed and tracking those who have come into contact with them.“We need to be following people around,” he said. Then realizing how that sounded, he added, “That’s me being facetious.”(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News).To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Teague Beckwith in New York at rbeckwith3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max BerleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.