Senate Republicans are never going to turn on Trump
Sorry, Jeff Flake


Jeff Flake said on Thursday that if a private vote were held on the matter, at least 35 Republican senators would choose to remove Donald Trump from office. I would be tempted to observe that this is a bit like saying that millions of Americans would fire their bosses and give themselves a 1000-percent raise if they could do so by pushing a magic button, but that would mean accepting Flake's underlying premise.
Why does he think that his former Senate colleagues have had it with the president? In case he hasn't noticed, with the not especially noteworthy exceptions of Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse, who have settled comfortably into their respective media niches as "sober elder statesman" and "last honest man in the GOP," Republicans are circling the wagons. This is the case across what passes for the conservative ideological spectrum in the post-Trump GOP, from hawkish moderates like Lindsey Graham to libertarians like Rand Paul to the paternalist maverick Josh Hawley. This is to say nothing of Mitch McConnell. "I've read the summary of the call. If this is the ‘launching point' for House Democrats' impeachment process, they've already overplayed their hand. It's clear there is no quid pro quo that the Democrats were desperately praying for," he told Politico on Wednesday.
Which seems more likely, that McConnell and his members are all pining for a return to the days when they lost two consecutive presidential elections but are burying this beautiful hope deep within their hearts, or that Flake is engaging in wish fulfillment here? From his current vantage point as a guy who gets paid to travel around the country lamenting the depravity of a president whose agenda he supported 81 percent of the time while in office (more frequently even than his Tea Party colleagues Rand Paul and Mike Lee) it might be difficult to understand, but the reality is that Trump is wildly popular with the GOP base and a boon for its members in both houses of Congress. If anything, I would guess that even Romney would not vote to remove Trump if his fans at The Atlantic would never learn about it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This doesn't mean that in personal terms they like the president who has used a party to which he has not belonged for most of his life as a vehicle for his own political ambitions without much, or indeed perhaps any, regard for its long-term fortunes. I am even willing to believe that, in the circumstances described by Flake — i.e., in their private lives, as normal people — some of them would even be willing to venture the occasional criticism of a twice-divorced serial philanderer who thinks that apostrophes are hyphens. But there is space for a pretty wide range of opinion between grumbling about someone in private and secretly wishing to light your party on fire.
Flake also seems to be ignoring the reality that Trump's removal from office by a Republican Senate would not only be a disaster for the GOP but arguably the most radical action in the history of the American Congress. Neither of our two previously impeached presidents were removed from office. If Trump is impeached, which still seems unlikely enough anyway, the Senate is not going to bring him down.
It's hard out there for an ex Arizona senator. Nobody should begrudge Flake his various new rackets. But calling on members of your party to sacrifice everything in the name of certain nebulous principles — as opposed to actual concrete political differences — while you yourself have nothing to lose is not exactly a profile in courage.
Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
The census: Why Trump wants a new one
Feature Donald Trump is pushing for a 'Trumpified census' that excludes undocumented immigrants
-
The red state push to join the DC occupation
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican governors are increasingly eager to volunteer their state's National Guard troops for Trump's ostensibly anti-crime siege of the nation's capital
-
It is 'beyond time for us to seek bipartisan solutions' for Afghanistan
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Israel: Losing the American public
Feature A recent poll finds American support for Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen from 50% to 32%
-
Texas gerrymander battle spreads to other states
Feature If Texas adopts its new electoral map, blue states plan to retaliate with Democrat-favored districts
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Why is the Democratic Party's favorability rating so low?
Talking Points Voters do not like Republican policies. They like Democrats even less.