Last November, when Trump was elected, many citizens and public officials claimed that they would try their best to get him impeached. His outlandish rhetoric, his tweets, and his actions in office have infuriated many in the past year, and for good reasons. Since the recent indictment of his former campaign chairman amongst other scandals, six House Democrats have joined forces and announced on Wednesday that they would be filing articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The six Democrats plan to release five articles of impeachment, claiming that Trump has violated the Constitution on multiple occasions. They are led by Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee. Cohen was very displeased when he heard Trump’s remarks about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia when he claimed that “both sides” were at fault.
Cohen and his team in the House are planning on charging Trump with obstruction of justice, in regards to the Robert Mueller Russian collusion case. Trump is also being targeted for threatening the First Amendment in regards to the press, and for his bad-mouthing of federal judges who are overseeing important cases. Most notably in the media, Trump is being charged with threatening the First Amendment in regards to the press. With these articles, the Democrats hope to convince the House of Representatives that impeachment is the only logical solution to the nation’s chaos.
Only two presidents have ever been impeached in United States history. Andrew Johnson was impeached after unjustly firing his Secretary of War and violating the Tenure of Office Act. Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice regarding his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Neither Johnson nor Clinton were convicted for the charges after impeachment.
Impeachment is very uncommon, mostly due to the fact that the charges have to be extreme and able to be proven without a doubt. Trump has certainly been one of our most vocal presidents, and his demeaning comments about women and immigrants, unfortunately, are not considered to be a strong enough reason to impeach him.
Another thing we have to think about when talking about impeachment is the aftermath. Vice President Mike Pence would become president, which could potentially bring about a whole new set of problems. Pence is known to be more traditionally conservative and especially friendly to big businesses, while Trump sees himself as a populist in his own eyes. This fascinating article from The New Yorker discusses what would happen if ‘President Pence’ were to take over, and just how dangerous that could be.
Trump’s 38% approval rating as of October 31st is a record low for his presidency. Now seems to be the right time for disapproving politicians to put their complaints on paper and submit articles of impeachment. But with so little experience in United States history with impeachment, who knows what the results could be?
It is important to recognize that there is no easy solution to such a difficult problem. It is an issue which severely divides both politicians and citizens alike. It is crucial to listen to and attempt to understand every side of the argument. Many have been pushing for impeachment since day one of Trump’s presidency, but first, we must understand the implications and decide if this is the right track for the nation.
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