This should really go without saying: The Democrats’s impeachment inquiry is in no way similar to a “lynching.” President Trump thinks otherwise, claiming the House has stripped him of “due process or fairness or any legal rights.”
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2019
The Democrats’s impeachment efforts are certainly partisan and lack a true interest in justice. Trump is a Republican, they’re Democrats (most of whom have been convinced of his guilt since the moment he stepped foot in the Oval Office), and they’ve been looking for an excuse to impeach him since January 2017. But this impeachment isn’t illegal or unconstitutional, as the White House has claimed before and Trump is trying to say once again.
Comparing impeachment to a lynching is, of course, even worse than arguing against its constitutionality. It’s an ugly comparison that makes light of a deep stain on America’s character. Vigilante murders — often of men and women whose only crime was the color of their skin — are not comparable to Trump’s being investigated for abusing his office.
The House will probably move forward with its inquiry and hold a vote eventually, and the Senate will likely reject the charges and refuse to convict. Trump is obviously confident in this acquittal, which is perhaps why he continues to make outlandish claims such as this one. He thinks it doesn’t matter.
But it does matter. As long as Trump keeps acting like he is bulletproof, ignoring the behavioral guardrails that temper his wild nature, he will keep doing things that risk his support among Republicans. Today’s lynching comparison is just the latest example. There was also the ridiculous letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week, his outburst during a meeting with Democratic leadership, and dozens of tweets that don’t exactly help his cause.
The president should be doing everything he can to ensure congressional leaders and voters alike that he is capable of stability and caution. Support for impeachment is growing across the country, which means public opinion is still up for grabs. But instead of reassuring the country, Trump seems bent on doing the opposite.
He’s making it that much harder for Republicans to stand by him as impeachment accelerates.
