As President Trump likes to remind us, his victory in November was not widely predicted by professional pundits and statisticians. One exception to that rule was Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington, D.C., whose formula for calculating the country's partisan mood has accurately called the last eight presidential elections.
Lichtman now has a forthcoming book explaining his new prediction: President Trump will be impeached and either resign or be removed from office, even with a GOP majority in Congress. Politico reports:
The book, rushed to the presses after the election, provides a brief history of the thinking that led the Framers to include impeachment, and the behavior that led presidents to get impeached — counting Richard Nixon along with Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton (the two presidents who didn't resign before the Articles of Impeachment were read in the House), Lichtman points out that one out of every 14 presidents has been impeached: "Gamblers have become rich betting on longer odds than that."With a heavy hmm, he cites Johnson's obituary in The New York Times, which said the 17th president's fatal flaw was "he was always headstrong, 'sure he was right' even in his errors." [Politico]
If Trump wants to avoid the axe, Lichtman offers a list of political and personal steps for the president to take forthwith, including divesting his business interests, embracing fact-checks, and hiring a shrink.
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.
-
How AI chatbots are ending marriagesUnder The Radar When one partner forms an intimate bond with AI it can all end in tears
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
