Democratic Lawmaker Says Impeaching Trump Would ‘Play Into Russia’s Hands And Divide This Country’
In an interview broadcast Saturday, Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell said that impeaching President Donald Trump would “play into Russia’s hands and divide this country,” The Hill reports.
Discussing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report — and recent developments pertaining to the Russia investigation — Dingell said that she feels “schizophrenic” about the entire situation. According to her, impeaching Trump would divide Americans, which is exactly what Russian government-backed disinformation campaigns sought to do in 2016.
“There is a theme that is throughout this report about how Russia is trying to divide this country. I don’t want to play into Russia’s hands and divide this country more with a partisan impeachment. So I am totally schizophrenic right now about all of the different things that are in there.”
Dingell accused President Trump of “putting kerosene on a fire” by stonewalling House investigations. As The Hill notes, many other Democrats have criticized the White House for rebuking subpoenas, arguing that beginning impeachment proceedings is the only way to force President Trump and his allies to cooperate.
But according to Dingell, the Democrats cannot impeach Trump on their own. Both parties need to agree about the issue and begin impeachment proceedings together, the Michigan representative suggested.
“I think we have to do this in a bipartisan way. I think Republicans and Democrats have a responsibility,” she said.
As it has been widely reported, only one Republican has decided to support impeachment — Justin Amash. The rest of the party has unequivocally backed President Trump, despite having some reservations early on.
Not backing Trump would be political suicide, polls suggest, given that the absolute majority of Republican voters approve of the job Trump is doing. According to Gallup, 90 percent of self-described Republicans approve of Trump’s job performance.
WATCH: @RepDebDingell reacts to President Trump’s new tariff plan: “Chaos, total chaos” #MTPDaily pic.twitter.com/wfHzqIgsFy
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 31, 2019
But not all Democrats support impeachment. The most powerful Democrat in the country, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is adamantly opposed to it. As The Inquisitr reported, despite pressure from the public and her caucus, Pelosi has maintained that Trump should not be impeached, suggesting that House focuses on legislation and investigations.
Robert Mueller’s press conference, held on Wednesday, added fuel to the fire, reigniting calls for impeachment as the special counsel’s words were interpreted as an implicit call for Congress to start an inquiry.
President Trump's approval rating hits highest point in two years https://t.co/P0jIbzZexY pic.twitter.com/HvMXTQIBYc
— The Hill (@thehill) June 1, 2019
Prominent Republicans have gone on the offensive, criticizing Mueller for holding the press conference in the first place. California Republican Devin Nunes accused Mueller of attempting to “light the fuse for impeachment,” arguing that no member of the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia. According to him, certain American intelligence officials and members of the Clinton campaign have conspired with the Kremlin.
