Despite continued claims to the contrary from the president and his allies, about one in two Americans support impeaching President Donald Trump and removing him from office. Although the GOP majority in the Senate seems poised to insulate Trump from Democrat-led impeachment culminating in him actually getting removed, there’s still a readily available chance for concerned citizens to make their voices heard in the 2020 presidential election. This week on CNN, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley predicted that in the meantime, public support for the president will continue to dramatically hollow out. As he noted, the House hasn’t even formally developed articles of impeachment yet, and they’ve already got major support.
Brinkley noted, in reference to the poll numbers that reveal lower approval ratings for Trump than previously impeachment-facing presidents had:
‘It just tells you what deep trouble Donald Trump is in. I mean, when you have 50 percent of the country wanting you not just impeached but removed from office, and the game hasn’t even gotten fast yet. I think once the vote is taken by Congress to impeach him and he’s wearing the ‘I’ on his chest, you’re going to see that movement grow even more. It tells you he doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s a base politician. He doesn’t know how to turn this around.’
Watch:
CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley on a recent poll showing 50% of Americans support impeaching and removing Trump from office:
After Congress votes, “you’re going to see that movement grow even more… He’s a base politician. He doesn’t know how to turn this around.” pic.twitter.com/wR9iCB4Jho— New Day (@NewDay) November 29, 2019
Trump has largely refused to engage with the substance of the impeachment case that Democrats are building against him and seem likely to take to the full House for a vote sooner than later. Despite many previous claims about supposed lack of due process, he’s even hesitated to decide to send a lawyer to upcoming impeachment proceedings, which Democratic leadership invited a Trump team representative to attend. Separately, he’s repeatedly insisted that he did nothing wrong in demanding that Ukraine investigate the Bidens.
That corrupt seizure of power has largely defined Trump’s time in office at this point. Over and over, he’s used the power of the presidency to promote his personal interests, whether via pushing his family business or insisting that world leaders capitulate to his wishes or face whatever nonsensical public insult he can dream up for his Twitter feed.
Brinkley noted:
‘I think the Democrats might want to look at the way Jimmy Carter pulled off victory in 1976. He took the high road. He ran on saying, I will never tell a lie to you. He didn’t have to say Nixon’s lies or Lyndon Johnson’s lies, just that I am clean, good governance coming your way if you vote for me.’
At least a couple of leading Democratic presidential candidates have definitely seemed to take this message to heart. Senators Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) have each rolled out plans to tangibly improve the lives of Americans through means like health care. Along with former Vice President Joe Biden, they’re currently the top three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. In head-to-head polling, Trump ends up consistently behind each one of them, with months to go before the election.
