On Friday afternoon, California Representative Maxine Waters, who has served in Congress since 1991, announced that her “greatest desire is to lead [President Donald Trump] into impeachment.”
In an interview with the Cheddar online news network via Skype, Waters refused to answer a question about what the American people can expect “for the next four years out of President Trump.”
“I hope he’s not there for four years,” Waters responded. “I hope that, you know, this man and who he is, what he’s done, the way that he’s defined himself, and the way that he’s acting, I am hoping that we are able to reveal all of this, and my greatest desire is to lead him right into impeachment.”
Cheddar did not ask what Waters meant by “leading” Trump “into impeachment.” Does that mean Waters and other Democrats in Congress are planning to trick Trump into doing something unconstitutional? Is this their real motivation for attempting to block his every move? Or do they just think that Trump will hoist himself on his own petard, and there will come a time when enough Republicans agree that the president should go?
Waters did not delve further into her plans on impeaching Trump, but she did explain why she did not attend the inauguration. The congresswoman argued that the event “certainly does not mean much of anything except you are going to this event to welcome in the new president and to rejoice in the fact that he won.” Waters added, “I’ve said I’m not welcoming him, I won’t rejoice in him being the president, I don’t honor him, and so I did not go to that inauguration.”
Imagine if a Republican had said the same thing in 2009, or if a Republican had said his or her “greatest desire” was to get Obama impeached. That congressman or congresswoman would have been vilified as discourteous, angry, and racist. But when Waters does it to Trump? Crickets.
Or rather, agreement.
Here are a few examples from Twitter.
YES! Can't wait for the impeachment! #TheResistance #SaturdayMorning pic.twitter.com/txVTdSJZ5I
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) February 4, 2017
Here’s an associate professor of journalism at Northwestern University saying Trump’s tweets prove insanity and grounds for removal under the 25th Amendment.
https://twitter.com/dankennedy_nu/status/827880194518241285
Here’s MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, an alleged Republican, saying Trump’s feud with judges over his immigration order could lead to impeachment.
If the White House wants to declare war on judicial independence, they will be crushed. This is a strategy that would lead to impeachment.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 4, 2017
Here’s more on that.
I think this tweet will come up in impeachment procedings. What do you think? https://t.co/HpQe9GoKNe
— Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) February 4, 2017
A liberal polling firm, Public Policy Polling (PPP), found that 40 percent of Americans want Trump impeached, while 49 percent do not. Naturally, this poll oversampled Democrats, featuring 41 percent Democrats, 30 percent Republicans, and 29 percent independents. The entire portion of Americans who favor impeachment could be Democrats in the sample.
With PPP adding seeming legitimacy to Waters’ claims, perhaps it is not surprising that this Democrat is standing by her words.
Today, I told @cheddar that my greatest desire was to lead @realDonaldTrump right into impeachment.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) February 3, 2017
But even if the PPP poll were correct, it would only suggest that a minority of Americans want Trump impeached, while a larger portion do not. Once the oversampling is taken into account, it seems more likely that a majority of Americans do not agree with Waters and the others calling for Trump’s impeachment. What a surprise!
The more Democrats rant and rave against Trump, the more power he gains. If instead they try to act like a rational opposition party, choosing their battles and compromising on other things, perhaps politics can gain a little more sanity. If the country does actually benefit from Republican policies they fought tooth and nail against, however, their party may be in the doghouse for more than just four years.
Here’s the video of Waters’ interview.
Congresswoman @MaxineWaters, on working with President Trump: "My greatest desire is to lead him right into impeachment." #CheddarLIVE pic.twitter.com/Hr5THHR3XM
— Cheddar🧀 (@cheddar) February 3, 2017
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