Today, Trump sent a 6-page letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi condemning the impeachment inquiry. The letter came the day that House Democrats formed the majority needed to impeach Trump—with most Democrats supporting the two articles of impeachment and all Republicans opposed to them. In the letter, the president describes the impeachment inquiry as “an illegal, partisan attempted coup” and accuses Democrats of “Obstructing Justice” and “bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for [their] own selfish personal, political, and partisan gain.” In what I interpret to be purposeful irony, Trump antagonizes the left using the same charges he currently faces. Trump’s response to his looming impeachment is different from previous presidents in his situation; Clinton sent an official apology to the House days before he was impeached and Nixon decided to resign instead of face the impeachment. Trump, however, has been defiant and accusatory, inspiring his supporters and other Republicans to have a similar attitude. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell openly said that he would not be “impartial” in the impeachment proceedings. Meanwhile, he refused to allow more witnesses from the White House, saying he did not want to aid the Democrats’ case in any way. Ultimately, this impeachment process has revealed the intense polarization and partisanship in American politics today, which threaten to objectivity designed for such a process.
NYT Article Link
The Letter Itself
Questions:
1. What are the effects of Trump's approach to his impeachment? Why do you think it differs so much from previous presidents?
2. Is Trump's letter part of a larger strategy of attacking the impeachment/House Democrats or just an impulsive way to vent his frustrations?
3. Do you think there is any chance of Trump being convicted by the Senate? If not, will an impeachment by the House alone do anything to affect his support in the 2020 election?
3. I think that there is absolutely no chance that Trump is impeached by the Senate. There are currently 53 republican members in the Senate, and I the probability they get approximately 20 to change sides in unreasonable low. Unfortunately, I also think that being impeached by the house will not have a large effect on his support because his supporters are so staunchly on his side. His republican base already believes he is innocent, and is unlikely to believe the democrat majority house opinion. The best outcome is that some moderates will change their mind, but the republican base will not move.
ReplyDelete3. There is almost no chance that the president will be removed from office by the senate as there would need to be 2/3 majority and the senate is currently majority Republican. Even though he was impeached by the House, I don't think it will affect his overall support for the 2020 election. Many of his supporters believe that he did not do anything wrong and the whole scandal is just a strategy for the Democrats to obtain power again. Perhaps some moderates will have a new opinion on Trump as a result of the impeachment, but for the most part, his support will not change.
ReplyDeleteTrump's approach to the impeachment has caused a very big divide in the political realm. Trump has made it ok to be accusatory and deny everything that has been claimed, and even proven with evidence to some extent. This has caused other Republicans to openly show support for him and defend him, even through these trials and the evidence that the House has found against him. It has led to a very big partisan divide among Republicans and Democrats, which can be very detrimental to our nation. Trump has not been in politics, and is a business man. This makes him more likely to cover mistakes and illegalities, whereas previous presidents saw their fate coming and tried to instead kiss up and get some support, rather than getting people even more angry. He is dividing our country instead of bringing them together. He is creating problems, instead of apologizing and then fixing them.
ReplyDelete3. I think there is a very low chance that Trump is actually removed from office by the Senate because Republicans hold the majority and in order to be removed, the senate would need a 2/3 majority. I don't think being impeached in the house will affect his run for president in 2020 because the country is is very polarized and republicans are siding with Trump during the impeachment process. His supporters believe Trump did nothing wrong and have continued to support him through this scandal so they will continue to during his run for reelection.
ReplyDelete3. It is going to almost impossible to get Trump convicted and voted against in the Senate because for that over 20 Republican senators would have to vote against their party leader, the incumbent President of the United States of America. I also believe it will not have a huge affect on his 2020 campaign, but the whole process will end up costing US taxpayers around $63 million.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is nearly impossible for Trump to get convicted by the senate. The senate is majority Republican which means that most Republicans would need to agree to impeach Trump in order for the Senate vote to pass. I believe Trump supporters would not be phased by the House impeachment at all since his supporters are very dedicated to his beliefs and campaign. At most, some moderates may lose their interest in Trump but a majority of his Republican supporters would remain loyal to his party.
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ReplyDelete3. The chance that Trump gets impeached is slim to none. The Senate needs a two-thirds majority to remove Trump from office and it currently doesn't appear that this will happen. In a closely updated poll by the Washington Post, they tracked each of the Senators stance on impeachment. As of December 2019, 37 Senators opposed impeachment, 7 supported impeachment, and the remaining 56 senators have not stated their position. Even if all 56 remaining senators vote for impeachment, the two-thirds majority would still not be reached. Overall, I do not think his impeachment will affect his support in the 2020 election because our country has become increasingly partisan, either supporting Trump or despising him.