With Congress poised to consider articles of impeachment this week, lawmakers should be mindful of a poll showing that Americans want President Donald Trump removed immediately for inciting Wednesday’s deadly violence in the U.S. Capitol.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 57% of Americans wanted Trump to be ousted, and that nearly 70% of respondents disapproved of Trump’s actions preceding the riot.
In these polling results lies a message for the nation’s lawmakers: Forcing Trump out of office would not further divide the country, as many Republicans contend, but rather is an essential step to restoring normality and communicating that our democracy will not accept attacks.
Clearly, Americans are alarmed at the prospect of this unhinged president finishing out his term, and believe he should face consequences for his abhorrent actions. Although the percentage of poll respondents calling for Trump’s ouster was higher among Democrats, both they and Republicans indicated they wanted Trump to be removed.
This stands to reason. The American people have had enough of the Trump horror show. Americans voted him out of office in an election that saw the largest turnout in history, voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Trumpism. And in this post-election period Americans have watched as Trump and his shameful GOP cohorts have tried to invalidate the vote of the people and overturn democracy. Now our disgust and desire for consequences for his attempted coup is rippling through the nation.
Trump, true to form, has resisted calls to resign and is flying his twisted presidency into the ground. With his cowardly Cabinet indicating it won’t invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him, the responsibility falls to Congress. The House is scheduled to introduce articles of impeachment today, with 180 sponsors.
As Trump and his underbosses continue to agitate his followers with his false claim that the election was stolen from him, there’s a clear and present danger of more violence. It’s telling that police in state capitols across the nation have ordered extra security measures — a sign of these worrisome times and of Trump’s ability to provoke chaos even as his term comes to a close at noon Jan. 20.
Americans have had enough, as the poll shows. This is simple: After four years of watching Trump vandalize our nation, abandon our people to a raging pandemic, destroy our economy and preside over deadly failures of horrific scale that make him the worst president in history, American are done with this loser. Then comes this final criminal act in a rampantly criminal presidency: orchestrating an attack on “our citadel of democracy,” as Biden so aptly described the Capitol. Americans want Trump out before he does more harm.
Ousting him wouldn’t push Americans further apart. It would remove a threat, allow the nation to breathe easier and press a reset button that would allow us to move on, while demonstrating that the rule of law triumphs.