Hashtags demanding President Trump’s impeachment saturated Twitter following Robert Mueller’s testimony Wednesday.
Despite a performance by the 74-year-old’s former special counsel that many on both sides of the aisle considered weak, the social media site was inundated with users hoping that the House will open an impeachment inquiry against Trump.
As of Wednesday night, #ImpeachNow was the number three trending topic on Twitter, with the term mentioned in more than 70,000 tweets. Other hashtags, such as #ImpeachmentInquiryNow and #TrumpIsAFelon, were also trending in the top 10 spots, bringing in about 79,000 and 57,000 mentions, respectively.
Prominent social media figures on the Left seized on the hashtags and made them viral.
“This is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. They’re going to be reading about this 300-400 years from now and ask: What are you going to do about it?” @OversightDems Chairman @RepCummings
I think we should start the inquiry and #ImpeachNow#MuellerHearings
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) July 24, 2019
Mueller made it clear today via his testimony that Trump is a criminal and a traitor who should not be president. It’s time to #ImpeachNow. Retweet if you agree.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 24, 2019
If the House recommends impeachment, Senate GOP does nothing and Trump screams victory, so what? He’ll declare victory either way. If we don’t impeach, he’ll say it didn’t happen because there was no valid reason. #ImpeachNow
— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) July 24, 2019
Only 92 House members have said they would support an impeachment inquiry, with House leadership reticent to pursue the political hot potato.
Mueller testified Wednesday about his 448-page report, which did not find evidence that Trump conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential election and made no determination on whether the president obstructed justice during the course of his 22-month inquiry. Attorney General William Barr had previously cleared Trump on both counts in a March letter to lawmakers.
The former special counsel’s testimony remained confined to what was in his report and he generally refused to answer questions beyond the findings that were previously published. Some criticized Mueller for appearing confused, often bumbling over answers and asking for questions to be repeated.
