It’s Halloween and the White House has good reason to feel spooked. A new poll shows record levels of support for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
On Tuesday, Public Policy Polling (PPP) released some stunning findings from their latest survey . It turns out 49 percent of voters want him impeached and just 41 percent are opposed to an impeachment. “This marks the sixth month in a row we’ve found a plurality of voters in favor of impeaching Trump,” PPP notes. “And it’s the closest we’ve found to a majority.”
CNN reports that as Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s Russia probe closes in, the White House keeps trying to change the subject . A source “close to the administration” even told CNN , “Today has zero to do with the White House.” But that doesn’t change the fact that on Monday three key campaign aides — Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos — have been charged for working with Russian agents to meddle in the 2016 election.
This, of course, launched a whole new round of chatter about the possibility of Trump’s impeachment. When he heard the news, he indignantly tweeted, “Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus????” He then added in a second tweet, “Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”
Yet, as observed by the Inquisitr , the president’s personal legal counselor Jay Sekulow made a strange Freudian slip during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday. When pressed with questions about former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, Sekulow actually said the aide’s only “mistake was lying to the FBI.”
Meanwhile, as also reported by the Inquisitr , over a million Americans have signed a petition urging Donald Trump’s impeachment. The hedge fund manager and Democratic donor Tom Steyer is spending $10 million on this campaign, and it’s gathered a head of steam.
Over a million Americans sign petition to #ImpeachTrump -RT if you’re one of them #NeedtoImpeach @TomSteyer https://t.co/bwuAALUD89
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) October 31, 2017
As PPP observes, Trump’s approval ratings have nosedived since his already poor showing back in September. At that point, he had a 42 percent approval rating. Now that has shrunk to 38 percent. Here are three other key findings.
- Last week, he insisted he’d gotten more done in nine months than any U.S. president in our nation’s history, but only 25 percent agree.
- 49 percent say he’s the worst president in U.S. history.
- Just 37 percent of voters see him as honest.
Nor do other poll results bode well for those wanting to avoid a Trump impeachment. Respondents clearly disapprove of the White House’s handling of just about every issue except for the Hurricanes Harvey and Irma relief efforts and the economy. Only 32 percent support the GOP’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and only 29 percent support the GOP’s new tax plan. Meanwhile, the GOP-run Congress has a dismal 9 percent approval rating. No wonder Democrats now have a double-digit lead for the House races in 2018.
Another poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal from last week also shows some rather dismal findings. as reported by NBC News . Even in Trump’s top category, only 48 percent approve of his handling of “the aftermath of hurricanes in Texas and Florida.”
New NBC/WSJ poll: Trump underwater on nearly every issue except economy, management of TX/FL storms. https://t.co/nqAGAxjfGP pic.twitter.com/I5oK3xtXue
— Carrie Dann (@CarrieNBCNews) October 29, 2017
So what are the odds of a Trump impeachment? Ladbrokes, a betting site, lays the odds at 20/1 that the president won’t make it to the end of 2017.
Ladbrokes: 20/1 Trump is replaced as POTUS before year end. ?? pic.twitter.com/nQTizmz6Qe
— Ladbrokes Politics (@LadPolitics) October 30, 2017
Last week, the Daily Dot reported that some betting sites have raised the odds of a Trump impeachment to 50 percent. The road to impeaching a president is a long one that starts with the House, which is now controlled by the Republican Party. However, the Washington Post says the White House may be preparing for a “ Saturday Night Massacre ,” which could ultimately make things worse for Donald Trump.
The term refers to that time back in 1973 when then-President Richard Nixon faced a similar dilemma after an array of crimes, starting when his operatives’ bugging of DNC headquarters during the 1972 election came to light. While trying to cover things up, he fired people in his Justice Department one after the other, until one emerged who was willing to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
Not only did this make him and his campaign look bad, but Nixon also still had to accept a replacement, who picked up where Cox left off. As the investigation closed in, he resigned to avoid humiliation.
Fast forward to Donald Trump: He can’t legally fire Bob Mueller, only the U.S. attorney general can (or, in this case, Jeff Session’s second-in-command, as Sessions has recused himself from the Russia probe). That means he’ll have to pressure Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein into doing it, fire him if he refuses, and keep drilling down until he finds someone willing.
Then, as now, GOP House members are reluctant to move towards impeaching a president from their party. But, as happened with Richard Nixon, events may force their hand.
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]