Today has not been a good day for Donald Trump. Check that – the past three weeks have not been good for Donald Trump.
Bright and early on Fox News on Thursday, his right-hand woman and alternative fact machine Kellyanne Conway broke the law by promoting his daughter’s clothing line on live national television while standing in the White House. Now members of both parties are calling for swift punishment.
Just a few hours ago, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided unanimously to block an attempt by the Trump administration to lift the suspension of their executive order banning Muslims and refugees from entering the United States. Trump couldn’t even get the Bush-appointed judge to side with him.
Now, a new poll debuted on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show found that nearly 50 percent of Americans – a staggering number less than a month into a presidency – want to see Trump impeached.
Via @ppppolls, 46% of the country is ready to impeach Trump. #maddow pic.twitter.com/hiTeuApQKK
— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) February 10, 2017
In a 46-46 split, the American people are divided on whether the President of the United States – a guy who’s been in office for just a shade under three weeks – should be impeached from office.
This is a stunning number.
The reason it’s not higher, though, is likely because the American people simply can’t stand the thought of Vice President Mike Pence taking the reins of power.
Video:
Via new PPP poll, the best reason not to impeach Donald Trump: Mike Pence. https://t.co/gTkUU9DmYK
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) February 10, 2017
The fact that Trump is unpopular is not surprising. The first few weeks of his administration have been defined by chaos, incompetence, and a series of legally dubious and controversial executive orders. His administration is already up to its eyeballs in lawsuits and ethics violations. Not to mention, of course, that a majority of U.S. voters cast their ballots for another candidate in last fall’s election.
But just three weeks into a new presidency, the idea that close to a majority of Americans want the president removed from office – even as bad as these few weeks have been – is shocking.
It’s also a sign that Americans are waking up. They are recognizing that this – an unfit president surrounded mostly by unqualified, corrupt and extremist advisors, all simultaneously pursuing a dangerous agenda – is not normal.
If just a few thousand more voters in the rust belt recognized this three months ago, we’d probably be talking about how to raise the minimum age or ensure college is affordable for everybody or invest in our crumbling infrastructure – not praying that a federal court will strike down the latest unconstitutional thing our new president is trying to do.
Some honeymoon, eh?