Artemus
Veteran Member
I think that we've reached the point were Trump has no significant credibility remaining with either Congress or the American people. The final straw? Making the political speech to the Boy Scouts and then lying about getting a phone call from the leadership saying it was the best speech ever. People get really pissed off when kids are directly involved and it has forced people to admit to themselves what a liar he really is. Recent approval polls are in the low-mid 30s, which is about as low as a president can go. (The bottom 30% will support anyone who puts an "R" by their name.) Republican members of Congress are speaking out more and more and some are finally commenting on his questionable mental stability (if only caught by hot mikes). Echoed claims of Mueller being on a witch hunt and outrage about the leaks that revealed who Trump really is are almost non-existent from anyone outside the White House now.
So what happens now? Will Congress just keep trying to marginalize him? Will they keep passing legislation he despises like the Russian sanctions in the hope he gives up and resigns? Are the polls getting low enough that they decide there is less political fallout from getting rid of him for obstruction of justice than to keep him around? Are they hoping that Mueller provides a smoking gun so that they can act with minimal political fallout? Are they hoping for damning leaks of what Mueller has learned so they can act earlier?
Personally I still think that Congress (i.e. a sufficient majority) is hoping for a smoking gun. But based on the number of recent hires it looks like Mueller's investigation won't be done before the end of year at the earliest, which is getting dangerously close to the midterms and potentially devastating political news. The voting public has short memories so if they act now things may have settled down enough to minimize the damage.
Honestly, I'm enjoying watching this at some level. Watching Trump prove to right-wingers that they were fools who were fooled by the right-wing fake news sites may ultimately be the best thing that could have happened in the long term. I'll just keep eating the popcorn while it all unfolds.
So what happens now? Will Congress just keep trying to marginalize him? Will they keep passing legislation he despises like the Russian sanctions in the hope he gives up and resigns? Are the polls getting low enough that they decide there is less political fallout from getting rid of him for obstruction of justice than to keep him around? Are they hoping that Mueller provides a smoking gun so that they can act with minimal political fallout? Are they hoping for damning leaks of what Mueller has learned so they can act earlier?
Personally I still think that Congress (i.e. a sufficient majority) is hoping for a smoking gun. But based on the number of recent hires it looks like Mueller's investigation won't be done before the end of year at the earliest, which is getting dangerously close to the midterms and potentially devastating political news. The voting public has short memories so if they act now things may have settled down enough to minimize the damage.
Honestly, I'm enjoying watching this at some level. Watching Trump prove to right-wingers that they were fools who were fooled by the right-wing fake news sites may ultimately be the best thing that could have happened in the long term. I'll just keep eating the popcorn while it all unfolds.