Republicans hope to undermine the case for impeaching President Trump with the help of the 63 million people who voted for him in 2016.
The Democratic case for impeachment centers on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but Republicans are arguing that Democrats aren’t just targeting Trump; they’re also targeting the voters in states and districts across the country who favor the president, they say.
“It’s not just because they don’t like the president. They don’t like us,” Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said at the Judiciary Committee proceeding to consider impeachment articles. “They don’t like the 63 million people who voted for this president, all of us in flyover country, all of us common folk in Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Texas. They don’t like us.”
Republicans have over the past several weeks amplified a message that the Democratic impeachment effort isn’t based on high crimes and misdemeanors committed by Trump, but instead, it is fueled by their opposition to Trump’s agenda, including new tax cuts, reduced regulations, withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and conservative Supreme Court picks.
Trump’s millions of supporters celebrate those accomplishments, Republicans say, vexing Democrats who hope to win the White House in 2020.
“They can’t stand it,” Jordan said.
The GOP’s decision to bring Trump’s voters into the impeachment fight is supported by poll numbers that suggest that as the impeachment proceedings have advanced, Trump’s popularity has improved in critical states that are home to the voters Jordan described.
According to a new survey by Firehouse Strategies and Optimus, Trump has improved his lead over Democratic opponents in the critical battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Voters in those three states said they favor Trump over any candidate in the Democratic field.
In Wisconsin, Trump’s advantage is in the double digits. Voters in those states said they oppose the House Democratic impeachment effort. “Battleground state voters favor congressional Democrats turning away from impeachment issues and focusing on policy issues like immigration, health care, and climate change,” survey representatives said.
Democrats have provided fodder for the GOP’s argument that they don’t like Trump voters. A star witness at a House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing earlier this month was Stanford University professor Pamela Karlan. She testified that the president had committed impeachable offenses when he withheld security aid from Ukraine while at the same time seeking Ukraine’s help investigating Democrats and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida, delved into Karlan’s apparent disdain for both Trump and conservatives, producing comments she made on a podcast called Versus Trump.
“‘Liberals tend to cluster more. Conservatives, very conservative people, tend to spread out more. Perhaps because they don’t even want to be around themselves.’ Did you say that?” Gaetz asked Karlan at the hearing.
Karlan insisted the comment was not derogatory. Still, her remarks added to other anti-Trump statements, including those by Democratic lawmakers who appear to have disdain for Trump and those who support him.
House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters of California told supporters, “God is on our side,” and called on people to “create a crowd and push back” on Trump administration officials. Democratic leaders are eager to avoid alienating swing-district voters who might be convinced to abandon Trump and vote for their party’s nominee in 2020.
Democrats remain haunted by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 speech declaring that half of Trump supporters belong in “a basket of deplorables.” Clinton made the remark about two months before Trump prevailed in the November election, in part by winning swing states in the rust belt, including Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Republicans are warning that impeachment could have the same impact on swing states in 2020. “The voters will be heard,” Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican and member of the Judiciary Committee, said.” And I don’t think the Democrats behind this sham impeachment will like what they have to say.”
