Could Trump be the first president to be impeached and removed from office?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

We win the House in 2018 and impeach him. Rather than have Trump as their standard bearer in 2020 the Republicans supply the votes in the Senate to convict and remove him.

There is no greater motive than self preservation.

[virtualobserver]

1. Do you think that Trump can last that long?

We might be reaching a tipping point.

[DFW]

2. Maybe, but it won't be Democrats that do it

If Trump is impeached and removed from office, it will be because current Republican office holders are terrified that Trump will drag them into the minority in the midterms. If that becomes the case, the Republicans in the House will draft the Articles of Impeachment, and it will happen well before next summer.

If they are confident that will NOT happen, then no impeachment, much less a trial in the Senate.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. We win the House in 2018 and impeach him in the 019 Congress...

Losing the House would spook them, especially if his approval rating remain low.

[DFW]

9. Two reasons why I don't see that

If the Republicans don't see their fortunes sinking so low as to need Trump out of there, they probably have good reason to think so. After all, McTurtle sure seemed to know (somehow) that he could hold Garland up until Obama was out of office, and put in his own man in the SCOTUS. I don't think it was all canny political instinct.

And EVEN if we get a majority in the House, I don't think we get a 67 seat majority in the Senate, which is needed to remove a president from office after an impeachment. Is it worth our while to go through with an impeachment we KNOW will fail in the Senate, and leave Trump crowing about a victory everyone knew was a foregone conclusion? And is Pence as President such an appealing alternative if he IS removed? We need them both out, or we have only wasted our time and energy.

Agreed that losing the House would spook them, but only so far. Losing the House AND the Senate--now THAT would spook them!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. Only the dead enders would consider an impeachment which doesn't result in removal a victory.

I am sure that is one victory Clinton and Andrew Johnson didn't relish. If the GOP is obstinate we slow walk impeachment in the Senate right through the 2020 election.

The Republicans in the Senate put Clinton impeachment on a rocket path because they knew it was unpopular and wanted to be done with it as soon as possible. Majority Lott asked the House impeachment managers why they brought this "piece of shit" to the Senate.

[ADX]

3. I certainly hope so...

...the sooner, the better.

[unblock]

5. say we do great, win the house and get the senate to 50-50 (probably the best case scenario)

we can easily impeach with a house majority, but we'd need 67 votes (2/3rds) to convict and remove in the senate.

that means we need around 17 out of 50 republicans to go along with that.

possible, but i think that's a very tall order.


moreover, if there are 17 republicans who would vote to remove him, they're far, far more likely to try to privately convince donnie to resign, which is exactly what happened in nixon's case.

unlike nixon, donnie is the sort of person who might well be incapable of taking the obvious, good advice, and "take his chances" even when 17 republicans senators tell him it's a foregone conclusion.


all in all, possible, but still quite unlikely.

[yallerdawg]

6. I expect the Nixon resolution soon.

The Corrupt One walks away.

The new president pardons.

[Leith]

15. And That President Went on to Lose Reelection

Ford was not forgiven for that pardon.

[still_one]

7. If, and that is still a big if, we recapture the House, and don't capture the Senate, I am

not sure the senate republicans will vote to impeach. Republicans have always had a tendency to overplay their hand

Regardless, if we can capture at least one house in Congress we should be able to put the brakes on this nightmare until 2020

[Wounded Bear]

8. Difficult to say...

I believe we need 2/3 of Senate to approve removal by impeachment. Won't get there in '18.

Both prior impeachment proceedings and the Nixon threatened impeachment were all initiated by Republican congresses. Fun fact.

[Demsrule86]

13. We might take control of the Senate in 18 and the GOP might think it best

not to have Trump in office in 20.

[NewJeffCT]

20. While I'd like to be postive

mathematics works against Democrats in the Senate.

Republicans only have to defend 8 seats. Democrats have to defend 25 seats, including 10 seats in states that were won by Trump, including some states he won bigly - Claire McCaskill in MO, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, Sherrod Brown in OH, Jon Tester in Montana and Joe Donnelly in Indiana...

Even if it's a wave election next year where Democrats retake the House, it should be considered a huge victory for Democrats just to hold even in the Senate. Netting a pickup of even 1 or 2 seats would be an epic victory, and actually winning the Senate would be a "Do you believe in miracles? Yes" moment.

[MagickMuffin]

10. It would certainly give him the biggliest bragging rights

"I'm the only president in the history of the world to be impeached!"

[Demsrule86]

11. It could certainly happen...what Nixon did pales in comparison to Trump's actions.

The impeachment of Johnson and Clinton ...were truly both witch hunts and politically motivated.

[Lint Head]

12. I think it's possible that, just like a child, he'll have a hissy, take his toys and go home.

[shockey80]

14. Trump has a history of quitting.

When he sees he can't win he will take the money and run.

[kairos12]

17. The Reich Wing in the house will never vote to remove him. He would have to quit.

[Cosmocat]

18. Odd are long - single digit percentage wise

nm

[Paladin]

19. Let me put it this way:

If trump thinks that adding far right-wing fanatic and TV personality Jay Sekulow to his legal team is going to be his salvation, then he clearly doesn't have the intellectual capacity to be President of the United States, and he ought to be removed from office, forthwith.