A new Democratic House member called for impeaching Trump yesterday in, shall we say, unusually colorful language. It was a bit over the top, and it unnecessarily provided red meat to Trump’s base. There is no doubt, however, that the blue base agreed with those sentiments. In fact, I suspect that if you had the t-shirt concession with that message, you could make a fortune.
I might even buy one.
On a related note, David Leonhardt makes the case for impeachment in today’s NYT. His argument, based largely on the experience with Nixon, is that the potential allegations are legally viable and that Republican support for Trump might collapse at some point in the future. I agree with the former, but not the latter, because conditions today are different than they were in Nixon’s last days. Specifically:
- Nixon didn’t court the base the way Trump does (i.e., no one ever compared him to Cyrus the Great);
- While Nixon was a crook, he at least understood the rules and overtly showed them some respect; and
- Nixon didn’t have Fox News to make the case for him 24/7/365.
I just don’t think there is any plausible set of circumstances in which Trump could lose enough of his base to get 67 votes for conviction in the Senate. He’s only leaving if he resigns or he loses the election.