The Trump campaign and its allies think they have a winning strategy to defend the president from impeachment.
Donald Trump’s campaign is entering the darkest days of his presidency — as House Democrats begin a formal impeachment inquiry 13 months out from the 2020 election — with a singular strategy: convince voters the most powerful man in the world is now a powerless victim of partisan politics.
To the Trump team, it’s the perfect opportunity to make Americans feel sorry for a president who has rarely pitied anyone but himself.
“Democrats overreaching has been such a political gift to Trump, over and over again. They’ve been screaming ‘treason!’ and ‘impeachment!’ after nearly everything that happens,” said former Trump adviser Cliff Sims. “Middle America is mostly numb to it and now the latest impeachment gambit is helping galvanize moderate voters — the same ones who punished Republicans for overreaching on Clinton — especially in suburban areas.”
The campaign’s strategy is hardly foolproof. There’s little evidence that Trump’s repeated claims of “presidential harassment” during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation moved the needle with voters outside his base, and no guarantee the same daily assertions would have a different impact this time around.
And those endeavoring to portray him as a political martyr face a tall order, if recent voter attitudes are any indication. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released just days before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed off on a House-led impeachment inquiry found that 69 percent of voters personally dislike the president.
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Trump's anti-impeachment strategy involves convincing voters that the most powerful man in the world is now a powerless victim of partisan politics https://t.co/8ti2U6TkxK
— POLITICO (@politico) September 26, 2019
Every day, President Trump and his defenders tell us not to believe our own eyes and ears. We read or hear the president’s words, and we’re told to reject the natural and ordinary meaning. We see evidence of wrongdoing, and we’re told it proves virtue.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) September 26, 2019
#ETTD Ukrainian variant is every bit as lit as anticipated.
Trump looks bad, but we all knew he's a reality TV actor playing a mobster POTUS.
It's Zelenskiy who will really take the hit here, unfairly.https://t.co/054f0LT8yx
— John Schindler (@20committee) September 25, 2019
Trump’s reaction is typical Trump. Every time he is accused of wrongdoing, or thinks he is about to be, he uses the same language to fire up his fans. Every investigation is a “witch hunt.” Every subpoena constitutes “presidential harassment.” He knows these words and phrases rile up his fans and he has confidence they will protect him.
Sadly, it looks like a number of people might go down with Trump, or go down instead of Trump. Trump has already pointed the House to his loyal, Vice President, Mike Pence. And poor Mr. Zelensky. A newly elected leader with no political experience, he was elected to root out corruption in the Ukraine. Now he’s become involved in Trump’s own corruption here in the US. he doesn’t deserve any of this.
I still don’t see this impeachment effort going anywhere. The House may impeach, but the Republican controlled Senate may block the proceeding, or if it goes forward, they will not convict. But if Trump does get another term in 2020, but the Senate falls to the Democrats, you can be sure impeachment will be started again. And this time, it will succeed.
One way or the other, though, Trump has to go.
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