Trump is demanding that Mitt Romney be impeached (story) and has a Twitter hashtag to go with this impossible-to-implement demand (members of Congress can’t be impeached). This is ironic coming from a president who not only can be impeached but IS being impeached.
Senator Mitt Romney scotched the speculation that he was going to primary President Donald Trump in a Vanity Fair interview summarized on AlterNet here.
Mitt Romney wants to ‘decide Trump’s fate’ in a Senate trial — and he’s ‘freaking Republicans out’: report, by Cody Fenwick October 8, 2019
According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. In recent days, Romney has been reaching out privately to key players in the Republican resistance, according to a person briefed on the conversations. “Romney is the one guy who could bring along Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Ben Sasse. Romney is the pressure point in the impeachment process. That’s why the things he’s saying are freaking Republicans out.” (Romney, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.)
I wondered about this in a post on July 30th (above right).
Trump is attacking a powerful Republican critic, probably his most powerful Republican critic, for being a fool and a pompous ass.
This guy:
is calling this guy:
a fool and a pompous ass? Romney has to be thinking “is this the best you can do?”
If Romney becomes the leader of the Senate resistance against Trump despite all the efforts of Mitch McConnell he could force the Senate to have a real trial to remove the president. My understanding is that while conviction requires a 2/3rds vote, procedural votes about how to conduct the trial would have to be passed by a simple majority. If I am correct McConnell couldn’t cut the trial short with an immediate vote. This may involve the nuclear option and the filibuster.
During the trial, presided over not by McConnell but by Chief Justice Roberts, Romney would have ample time to whip the GOP votes for conviction.
Meanwhile the latest poll out today has to be bolstering Romney’s resolve.
Trump has become a cornered animal. He is dangerous. If Pence was a true patriot he’d initiate the 25th Amendment. Now it is up to Romney to make his move to expedite the removal of the president in the Senate.
Trump first proved this a few days ago by putting the whistle blower’s life at risk. Now he is putting the lives of the Kurds at risk. I predict this will embolden more Republicans to join Romney in the GOP resistance.