President Donald Trump stands behind U.S. Representative Jody Hice. Hice represents Georgia’s 10th congressional district, which includes a portion of Athens, and has spoken out against the impeachment inquiry. “But those facts don’t matter as Speaker Pelosi – in a bid to appease the socialist left wing of her caucus – announced that they will move forward with the impeachment process, and I’m sure there will only be more theatrics to come,” Hice said in a statement on his website. Illustration by Lilli Sams
Despite the current impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, President Trump and his supporters will not be stopped.
On Sep. 24, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, opened an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. The inquiry began after a whistleblower accused President Trump of pressuring Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter. Many witnesses, including certain White House officials, have corroborated these allegations.
However, after years of allegations against Trump, what makes the impeachment inquiry any different? It is naive to think that this process will stop the wrath of our president.
As the inquiry continues, the country is unsure of how it will play out. Will the House vote on the impeachment? Will the Senate choose to convict Trump if the vote is against him? And if so, will Trump willingly relinquish his office? America is divided on the issue.
The president himself and his following are quick to dismiss allegations such as these as “hoaxes” or “a circus”.
The impeachment isn’t an exception to this rule. An article by Newsweek details Trump’s outburst, saying, “‘They shouldn’t be having public hearings. This is a hoax,’ Trump told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn. ‘This is just like the Russian witch hunt. This is just a continuation.’”
Another example of this is Trump’s dismissal of the numerous sexual assault allegations made against him. Addressing these allegations at a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Trump said, “Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened,” according to an article by Business Insider.
Government officials who support Donald Trump, such as Jody Hice, the Representative for Georgia’s 10th congressional district, have spoken out against the inquiry. Hice dismissed it as the “next scandal” created by the Democrats, stating, “Since 2016, the one constant in national politics has been the unwillingness of the Democrat party to accept that Donald Trump was duly elected as the 45th President of the United States.”
Some may argue that Trump’s support is already declining; however, the statistics on Trump’s support are close to 50/50, as they’ve been since his election. According to a poll conducted by Gallup on Oct. 14 through 31, Trump currently has an approval rating of 41% and a disapproval rate of 57%.
According to the same poll, on Jan. 20, 2017, the date of Trump’s inauguration, Trump’s approval rating was 45% and his disapproval rate was 47%, with 8% showing no opinion.
While these percentages have fluctuated and declined over time, it’s not a clear enough margin to have a definite conclusion on the country’s opinion of Trump. The Republican support for Trump is booming as always, with the Gallup poll showing 89% support amongst Republicans, 34% amongst Independents, and 7% amongst Democrats as of Oct. 31.
The Democratic population may think (or hope) that after the numerous controversial decisions made by the Trump administration throughout his presidency, support for him would be on the decline. However, these polls show that the odds are not in their favor.
Support for the impeachment itself is even closer than the overall approval rating for Trump. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 47% of Americans disapprove of impeachment and removal from office while 49% of Americans are in support of it.
These polls support the idea that those who disapprove of Trump should not get their hopes up about the impeachment inquiry, and should not rely on the idea that impeachment will destroy Trump’s support for the 2020 presidential election.
Why would Trump supporters stray away now? It is an optimistic thought that after all Trump has done, impeachment would stop him and his supporters in their tracks, but the polls say otherwise.
