Democrats fear Trump will only get 'more extreme' after impeachment. Some Republicans agree.

Is President Trump only going to get "more extreme" after impeachment?

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) thinks so, predicting to Politico that Trump's "behavior will get more extreme going into the election" after he last week became only the third president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

"He will commit things that many Americans, including undecided independents, will find offensive," Kaine said. "Whether they’re impeachable offenses, I don't know. But I think in trying to jazz up his own base he's going to do some things that swing voters find offensive."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Several Republicans who spoke to Politico certainly didn't suggest Trump's behavior will get less extreme, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) saying, "A virtue of this president is he has been the same person yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and I expect that will continue."

But Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary under former President George W. Bush, voiced a similar concern to Kaine's, saying, "I worry the president will think he's got a lot more room to roam because he beat impeachment once, he can beat it anytime."

Similarly, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), asked if he worries Trump will be emboldened after being acquitted in his Senate trial, told Politico he isn't sure but that "I wish that he would drop his phone in a bucket of water."