President Trump reportedly thinks Congress impeaching him would actually help him win in the 2020 presidential election.
This is according to a report from Axios Wednesday, which says the president has told those around him that if he were impeached but not removed from office, he would paint himself as the victim during his 2020 run. According to one source who Axios says has discussed this issue with Trump, the president believes impeachment would be a "victory, politically" because Americans would see it as an "overreach" on the part of the Democrats.
At the same time, the source said the president isn't exactly wishing for impeachment because "his ego would not tolerate such a thing."
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.
As the pivotal midterm elections draw near, some political pundits speculate that Trump's potential strategy could work. Impeachment might actually backfire on the Democrats, they say, the same way beginning impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton backfired on Republicans in the 1998 midterms. But while only 36 percent of Americans wanted Clinton impeached in 1998, per NBC News, an August 2018 poll conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post showed 49 percent of respondents favored impeaching Trump.
-
'Is it OK to be happy when the world is falling apart?'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will online age checks doom internet freedom?Today's Big Question Or do they protect children from harm?
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billionsSpeed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
