Since Donald Trump’s election to become the 45th president of the USA in 2016, he has expanded the boundaries of the constitution in a manner that some say have violated legal statutes. For example, his hush money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels was a violation of the campaign finance law; his multiple obstruction to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the Russian election interference; preventing White House staff from appearing before congressional committees to give testimony; and his most recent scandal the quid pro quo phone call to the Ukraine’s President Zelensky on July 25th.
While Trump may appear to have escaped with little apparent damage from the Stormy Daniels scandal and Mueller’s investigation, his quid pro quo phone call to Zelensky may be the proverbial straw that will break his back.
While Trump might not have been aware of the Lernaean hydra, he was well aware of the corruption creature living in the swamp of Washington politics.
Last year I wrote a blog, titled, “The Lernaean Hydra in the Washington DC Swamp” in which I compared Trump to the mythical Lernaean hydra that was said to live in a swamp in the town of Lerna. This multi-headed serpentine creature was a menace to the townspeople and they made every effort to destroy the creature. This was futile though and resulted in the creature killing many of them. What was even horrifying was that for every head the creature lost during the effort to slay it, two more heads grew back. The creature was eventually killed by the courageous and extraordinary Hercules and his servant.
Although Trump might not have been aware of the Lernaean hydra, he was well aware of the corruption creature living in the swamp of Washington politics. During the 2016 presidential campaign his mantra was that he was going to drain the swamp in Washington. Instead of doing this he has created his own swamp−one that is much bigger than the existing one−and taken on the personification of the Lernaean hydra.
Trump’s personification of the Lernaean hydra is nothing new. He has demonstrated hydra characteristics during his personal relationships with women, his business ventures, and in the political arena. His relationship with women (including his wives) have involved salacious scandals that would have destroyed other men. He has bankrupted some of his business but somehow was able to start new business ventures at home and abroad. In his political forays he has done things that would have destroyed the political career of any other politician or president.
Like the Lernaean hydra, that was ultimately destroyed, the writing is on the wall that Trump’s short political career will soon come to an end. The weapon that will destroy his presidency is not one that his adversaries have created. Rather it is a weapon that he created himself from an accumulation of problems – specifically his quid pro quo phone call and his decision that allowed Turkey to move into Syria to displace and kill Kurds.
The details of Trump’s phone call were first reported in a whistleblower’s report that subsequently led to the White House releasing a transcript of the call. The fallout from the whistleblowers report and the White House transcript have led to an impeachment inquiry by Democratic congressional committees in the House. So far, they have interviewed some of the key participants in the July 25 phone call and it is inevitable that they will draft articles of impeachment as the White House continue to obstruct the congressional committees from getting witnesses to testify or to provide documents.
Trump’s impeachment is no longer a speculative game as it will definitely happen. The only speculation is when it will happen. With the 2020 presidential election almost a year away, it will be the single factor that influences how soon the impeachment will happen. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans want to see the impeachment process consuming campaign time in 2020. Ideally, it is to their advantage for them to get it over with as soon as possible.
The House Democrats are leading the charge of the impeachment inquiry and will definitely write article(s) of impeachment. Once they do this the House will vote to impeach Trump since they have the majority. This will set up the impeachment trial in the Senate and this is where things could get interesting. The Senate is controlled by the Republicans and we have seen how they have steadfastly defended Trump on the Russian interference investigation and all his political misdeeds. This is why many people believe that they will not vote to impeach and remove him from office.
My prediction is that they are going to impeach and remove him from office...
Most politicians are not stupid, they are likely to be more corrupt, hypocritical, and unethical than stupid when it comes to preserving their personal agenda and electability – they will do almost anything they can to get away with defending these positions. Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell know that they have a badly damaged president who has become a big liability to the party. They will have to make a critical decision and Trump has given them all the help they need to make this decision.
The stakes are high for the Republican Party especially with impeachment process encroaching on the presidential election campaign. Although they have defended Trump on almost everything, their options in an impeachment trial are not good. My prediction is that they are going to impeach and remove him from office and when they do it is going to be ranked as one of the biggest surprises in American politics.
If the Senate don’t vote to impeach and remove Trump from office, they will have to live with the consequences of further scandals and political missteps until the election in 2020 and beyond if he goes on to win the election. If that happens, he will accumulate more damaging problems for the Republicans.
To say that Donald Trump has caused enough problems that threaten the foundation of the Republican Party would be a gross understatement. The party’s chance of electability in future elections has been badly damaged. This is why I’m predicting that the Senate Republicans at their impeachment trial will vote to impeach and remove him from office.
If the Republicans summon the courage to remove Trump from office presumably before the end of the year, they will have enough time to find a new candidate to contend the presidential election in November 2020. One of two things will happen here, VP Pence will become president and most likely would contend the 2020 election. If he is challenged, Mitt Romney would be the most likely candidates to do so. He has more credibility than the other Republicans since he has not defended Trump’s bizarre politics and scandalous behavior.