Support Of Donald Trump Will ‘Collapse’ As Impeachment Moves Forward, Presidential Historian Predicts
Donald Trump’s public support will “collapse” as the impeachment proceedings move forward, a presidential historian is predicting.
Douglas Brinkley, a professor at Rice University and political commentator, said during a CNN appearance this week that the polls in support of impeachment will catch up to Trump’s approval ratings. As a result, the president will see a significant dip in support.
“It just tells you what deep trouble Donald Trump is in. I mean, when you have 50 percent of the country wanting you not just impeached but removed from office, and the game hasn’t even gotten fast yet,” Brinkley said, via The Hill.
He added that the movement against Trump would grow even more if Congress votes to impeach him, leaving the president to wear “the ‘I’ on his chest.”
Trump has been consistently among the most-disliked presidents since taking office — and even before — but his impeachment did not have the support of a majority of Americans until recent weeks. As the impeachment proceedings against him have moved forward, the number of Americans who want to see Trump both impeached and removed from office has risen to close to 50 percent in a series of polls. As The Inquisitr reported, a recent poll from the independent research firm SSRS found that the 50 percent of Americans who want Trump removed from office are more than double the number of those who wanted President Bill Clinton impeached and removed as he faced impeachment hearings in 1998.
Brinkley added that Democrats have a chance to seize on Trump’s sinking approval numbers and the rising number of Americans who want to see him impeached. He noted that Democratic candidates can draw a contrast for voters on what appears to be Trump’s lies regarding his reported pressure on Ukraine to dig up dirt on political rival Joe Biden.
“I think the Democrats might want to look at the way Jimmy Carter pulled off victory in 1976. He took the high road. He ran on saying, I will never tell a lie to you,” Brinkley said. “He didn’t have to say Nixon’s lies or Lyndon Johnson’s lies, just that I am clean, good governance coming your way if you vote for me.”
It was not clear if Brinkley’s prediction extended to members of the president’s own party, but they have appeared reluctant to drop support of Trump. In a recent poll from Economist/YouGov, a majority of Republicans said they think that Trump was a better president than Abraham Lincoln. A total of 53 percent picked Trump, while 47 percent said Lincoln was the better president.
