Some in the press are already writing Donald Trump’s political obituary. After Trump’s latest ‘hell week,’ they’re adding up the numbers of what it would take to remove Trump from office. Axios, for example, reports this morning that while it’s premature, the thinking in the Trump inner circle “has turned to survival in impeachment hearings.” If that happens, the president’s magic number is 34. That’s the number of Senators Trump will need to remain in office. But there are a lot of big “ifs” before that happens. It all could theoretically begin with Democrats retaking the House in November. From Axios:
- The writing is on the wall, top Republicans tell us: Democrats will likely win the House and undoubtedly move to impeach President Trump.
- “This is where the insane run of politics could hit peak insanity: Trump knows all he will need is 34 Republican votes in Senate to save his presidency, if he were impeached by the House and tried by the Senate. It takes 67 of 100 senators to remove a president from office.
- “Trump’s political superpower is his willingness to say, do and endure things most humans would never tolerate.
- “So those who know Trump best fully expect he would never surrender and bet his base is so strong, and Republican senators so fearful, his red wall will hold, regardless of evidence.
But many Democrats are loathe to talk about impeachment. From The Independent:
- Most Democrats, however, are keeping quiet about the prospect of removing Mr Trump from office, amid fears pushing the issue will fire up the Republican base ahead of the midterm elections in November.
- “I don’t think that we should be talking about impeachment,” Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth said.
Others, such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, are saying the Mueller investigation should run it’s course.