From the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, people have been opposed to having him in the office, and now the possibility of his impeachment is in the air. But are his bad actions enough to get him kicked out of office? The Constitution permits Congress to remove presidents before their term is up if enough lawmakers vote to say that the president committed “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Only three presidents have been subjected to impeachment proceedings. Two were impeached but acquitted and stayed in office: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999. A third, Richard M. Nixon, resigned to avoid being impeached in 1974.
Pros
1. President Trump’s lack of political experience.
Though Trump is very experienced in the business world, he lacks military or political background. If he is impeached, Pence will become the president and he has actual political experience and will likely make wiser choices.
2. President Trump "likely obstructed justice" when he fired FBI Director James Comey:
President Trump fired James Comey when Hillary Clinton was not charged after her email scandal. This act can not only be viewed as an obstruction of justice, but also as an abuse of power. Comey looked into Trumps ties with Russia, which upset Trump since he most likely feared that Comey would find more than just presidential ties with Russia. In a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office, Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Depending on the information, this can compromise our nation's security and trust in government.
3. Large segments of voters would be pleased:
His supporters will obviously be displeased with his impeachment, but because Trump did not win the popular vote, the majority of the United States would be pleased to hear that he is no longer their president. The democratic party is hoping to regain control of office similar to the era after Republican President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, when the Democratic party had held the office for two decades. History suggests a president's popularity may be an indicator to electoral success following impeachment or resignation;Trump's approval rate currently is 36 percent. At the time of Nixon’s resignation, only 24 percent of Americans approved of him.
4. President Trump can come across as disrespectful.
In a direct conversation with a widow and family of a fallen soldier, President Trump disrespected them by saying the fallen soldier “knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt”. Being disrespectful is not enough of a reason to be impeached, but the President of the United States needs to show compassion and empathy.
Though Trump is very experienced in the business world, he lacks military or political background. If he is impeached, Pence will become the president and he has actual political experience and will likely make wiser choices.
2. President Trump "likely obstructed justice" when he fired FBI Director James Comey:
President Trump fired James Comey when Hillary Clinton was not charged after her email scandal. This act can not only be viewed as an obstruction of justice, but also as an abuse of power. Comey looked into Trumps ties with Russia, which upset Trump since he most likely feared that Comey would find more than just presidential ties with Russia. In a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office, Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Depending on the information, this can compromise our nation's security and trust in government.
3. Large segments of voters would be pleased:
His supporters will obviously be displeased with his impeachment, but because Trump did not win the popular vote, the majority of the United States would be pleased to hear that he is no longer their president. The democratic party is hoping to regain control of office similar to the era after Republican President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, when the Democratic party had held the office for two decades. History suggests a president's popularity may be an indicator to electoral success following impeachment or resignation;Trump's approval rate currently is 36 percent. At the time of Nixon’s resignation, only 24 percent of Americans approved of him.
4. President Trump can come across as disrespectful.
In a direct conversation with a widow and family of a fallen soldier, President Trump disrespected them by saying the fallen soldier “knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt”. Being disrespectful is not enough of a reason to be impeached, but the President of the United States needs to show compassion and empathy.
Cons
1. Climate Change
If Trump is impeached, Pence will be elected which leads to bad effect in the environment because Pence has a consistent track record of voting against environmental protection, anti-pollution measures, and clean energy. He even stated that he doesn’t believe in climate change on his campaign website when running for the House in 2000. In a post titled “Global Warming Disaster,” Pence wrote “Global warming is a myth.” Regardless of Pence’s past remarks, he recently admitted that humans do play a role in climate change. Yet Pence and his running mate have outlined no policies designed to specifically address climate change. In fact, the GOP ticket would undo steps President Obama has taken to reduce carbon emissions
2. Failure Impeachments aren’t assured decisions and the chances of Trump leaving office are decreasing by the day.
If proceedings do not rouse sufficient public opinion against Trump, then a majority of House members will not vote for impeachment, and a supermajority of Senators will not vote for conviction. A failed impeachment could strengthen Trump and weaken his critics, because the critic's facts would be ruled out as invalid. The impeachment of Clinton actually increased public support for him as measured by the polls.
3. National Security
If Trump was impeached, his supporters would feel like they would lose their sense of national security. Trump is invested in making America “great again”. For example, his plan to build a wall to separate America and Mexico is supported with the thought of national security because “those [migrants] that do qualify [for citizenship] are not merely being returned to the violence they were fleeing from”, said Maureen Meyer, a Mexico researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a D.C. think tank. “So far this year, the number of detained migrants registered as ’unaccompanied children’ is down by 51 percent, about the same as the number of ’family units’ caught crossing illegally,” he stated in an interview with The Washington Post .
4. Trump’s worst behavior does not rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors.
Though we may not necessarily agree with Trump’s various actions—attacks on the press and the courts, boorish political attacks, and much else—they have not resulted in any identifiable harm to any person or institution. His tweets are not going to have him impeached because he is protected under our First Amendment—the freedom of speech.
If Trump is impeached, Pence will be elected which leads to bad effect in the environment because Pence has a consistent track record of voting against environmental protection, anti-pollution measures, and clean energy. He even stated that he doesn’t believe in climate change on his campaign website when running for the House in 2000. In a post titled “Global Warming Disaster,” Pence wrote “Global warming is a myth.” Regardless of Pence’s past remarks, he recently admitted that humans do play a role in climate change. Yet Pence and his running mate have outlined no policies designed to specifically address climate change. In fact, the GOP ticket would undo steps President Obama has taken to reduce carbon emissions
2. Failure Impeachments aren’t assured decisions and the chances of Trump leaving office are decreasing by the day.
If proceedings do not rouse sufficient public opinion against Trump, then a majority of House members will not vote for impeachment, and a supermajority of Senators will not vote for conviction. A failed impeachment could strengthen Trump and weaken his critics, because the critic's facts would be ruled out as invalid. The impeachment of Clinton actually increased public support for him as measured by the polls.
3. National Security
If Trump was impeached, his supporters would feel like they would lose their sense of national security. Trump is invested in making America “great again”. For example, his plan to build a wall to separate America and Mexico is supported with the thought of national security because “those [migrants] that do qualify [for citizenship] are not merely being returned to the violence they were fleeing from”, said Maureen Meyer, a Mexico researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a D.C. think tank. “So far this year, the number of detained migrants registered as ’unaccompanied children’ is down by 51 percent, about the same as the number of ’family units’ caught crossing illegally,” he stated in an interview with The Washington Post .
4. Trump’s worst behavior does not rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors.
Though we may not necessarily agree with Trump’s various actions—attacks on the press and the courts, boorish political attacks, and much else—they have not resulted in any identifiable harm to any person or institution. His tweets are not going to have him impeached because he is protected under our First Amendment—the freedom of speech.