Nate Silver speculates Senate rejecting witnesses may 'leave a bitter taste' in voters' mouths

last updated 31 January 2020

Could the Senate's failure to call additional impeachment witnesses come back to haunt Republicans this November?

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver speculated as much Friday morning as the Senate appears poised to not call new witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial. This is despite the fact that polling has shown Americans, including 75 percent of registered voters in a recent Quinnipiac poll, are supportive of new witnesses being called.

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Still, The Washington Post's Philip Bump points out that the 75 percent of voters in the Quinnipiac poll, for example, includes 49 percent of Republicans, and the witnesses Democrats want "are almost certainly not the same witnesses supported by that plurality of Republicans." Indeed, while Democrats have pushed for testimony from former National Security Adviser John Bolton, Republicans have pushed for testimony from former Vice President Joe Biden. Bump notes, then, that "Both sides support witnesses — but only in the abstract."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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