Donald Trump may be many things, but he is far from a quitter. The impeachment talks are getting heavier and heavier as weeks go on.
In a Fox News poll, it stated that more Americans are favorable towards President Trump’s impeachment. 51 % may not seem like a lot, but considering the number increased 9% from July, it is something worth noting; especially, since the poll was conducted by Fox News which heavily leans more conservative and has proven to side with Trump in the past. Although this whole impeachment ordeal in the States is not looking too pretty, it still is going to take more than a few million Americans to make this President step down from office. A Sun news article went into detail about a former Trump organisation executive believing he will quit before he is officially impeached, and this may not be entirely believable
How Did We Get Here?
It already has been established that impeachment proceedings in the US isn’t necessarily easy. For a recap please see this article:
Impeachment may not be a new word for the Trump Administration, but this is the first time the impeachment talk has gotten this far. During the Mueller Report, the Democrats did not have a strong claim to actually proceed with an impeachment inquiry, which can be seen by how long it took Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi to follow through with an impeachment inquiry.
The fallout from the call with Ukraine’s president and the dealings with the Whistleblower resurfaced the impeachment talk and gave the Democrats the ammo they needed for Nancy Pelosi to proceed with an impeachment inquiry. Nancy Pelosi knows better than anybody in American politics that you don’t just jump into an impeachment proceeding. Impeachment of an American President is pretty serious, and how it is conducted can be a great determining factor for the direction of the country. With the impeachment inquiry, the House is hoping to charge Trump with ‘Obstruction of Justice’.
Obstruction of Justice
Simply put Obstruction of Justice is when a person has a direct motive to interfere with a judicial proceeding, this can be done by threats, use of force, threatening use of communication, etc. To a third person looking into the President’s list of possible Obstruction of Justice actions, it should be easy to pinpoint. For example, in the Mueller probe, he removed James Comey (the FBI director), tweeted various times to end the investigation, and refused to disclose evidence to the Special Counsel.
Beyond the Mueller Investigation and a suspicious call with a foreign leader, many people feel Trump displayed a betrayal of the Oval Office by lying to the American people and not protecting their best interests at heart, but more so by only protecting his own personal interest.
Why He Won’t Quit Right Away
It might seem the Democrats have enough evidence and votes to follow through impeaching Trump, but those are not the only factors coming into play. Remember, impeachment is only half the battle in a true impeachment proceeding. The House of Representatives can impeach the president, but it is only the Senate that can remove said president from office. In order for the Senate to remotely consider impeachment, the House has to produce some graving charges against the President. Currently, the Republican majority Senate still heavily support Trump. Senators such as Lyndsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, and several others still believe this impeachment inquiry is just another ploy by the Democrats because they do not like the President.
In the Sun article, it explains how President Trump wants to save face, and does not want the word impeached attached to his legacy as President. As a business man, one saw how he would run his projects into the ground before he abandoned ship. To think he wouldn’t do the same as Presidency of the United States, would be a bit naïve. He practically ran for President because many people took him as a joke. He wanted to prove people wrong. It is plausible to think Trump may want to abandoned ship before he is officially impeached. Being added to the small list of past Presidents who was officially impeached doesn’t make for a fantastic presidency, especially so close to another election.
No one dreams of being impeached from the highest political office one can achieve to get; however, if the Senate and Americans support continues to back him, do not get your hopes up for a resignation.
Before people get too wrapped up in this impeachment saga, 20 out of 58 Republican Senators have to vote to remove him from office. Since it seems only a small percentage of Republican Senators speak out against Trump’s actions, the likelihood of achieving those 20 Republican votes are pretty slim.
The only possible way for Trump to resign before being impeached is if there was concrete evidence that proved Obstruction, or more of his supporters want to see him out. If one of those two things does not happen, then he is not leaving and could be reelected to a second term.