Should Donald Trump be impeached? The most recent Harvard/CAPS/Harris Poll survey indicates that a majority of American voters say “no.” Only 37 percent of those who participated in this poll support impeachment proceedings against Trump. Sixty percent of Democratic voters, however, say “yes” to impeachment.
According to another poll, the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, 39 percent of Americans say that the current investigations of Trump should stop, and no further action should be taken. A total of 52 percent of Americans who participated in this poll support some sort of action against Trump: 22 percent (36 percent of Democrats) support impeachment proceedings; 25 percent support continuing the investigation of wrongdoing of Trump; and 5 percent support a public reprimand (censure) of Trump.
The number of Americans overall who support impeachment proceedings has grown by 16 percent since former special counsel Robert Mueller spoke in May about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, 59 Democrats (and one Republican) currently support impeachment hearings. Though House Democrats supporting impeachment are in the minority, that number is slowly growing.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues, however, to try to hold down the calls for impeachment proceedings. Essentially, she would like for Trump to be prosecuted once he leaves office.
Pelosi has maintained that without support of the Republicans, impeachment proceedings would fail, since an impeachment trial takes place in the currently GOP-run Senate. What’s more, impeachment does not mean removal from office. To remove Trump would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which is not likely.
Additionally, say many political experts, should Democrats proceed with impeachment hearings and fail, the likely result will be increased support for “victim” Trump, and another term for him as president.
Political strategy should not be what determines whether or not to go forward with impeachment proceedings, but continuing with the current investigations in lieu of impeachment proceedings provides the opportunity for a more complete picture of whether Trump is guilty of any wrongdoing, and if so, to what extent.
“Our investigations are breaking through the Trump administration’s cover-up to get the truth,” said Pelosi. “We want the truth for the American people.”
Impeachment and removal from office might be ideal to many American voters, but if that effort were to fail, all Americans would lose.
Pelosi wants Trump to be prosecuted once he’s out of office: report | Fox News [2019-06-08]
Nancy Pelosi Reportedly Tells Democrats She Wants To See Donald Trump ‘In Prison’ | NBC Nightly News [2019-06-06]
