Why Trump’s Impeachment Trial Makes Senate Republicans Squirm
Their fear of Trump’s supporters is greater than their loyalty to the president.
What’s to fear?
Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg
As the impeachment of President Donald Trump moves to what Republicans are calling a trial in the Senate, members of his party are poised to bury evidence of his corruption and acquit him. This is not because they are personally loyal to the president; several GOP senators have previously acknowledged that he is unfit for office. It is because they are afraid of his, or rather their, voters.
The fear is genuine: Much like Trump himself, many Republicans have a distorted view of reality. In a Quinnipiac University poll released this week, roughly two thirds of voters, 64%, say they would oppose the U.S. going to war against Iran. If you’re wondering who the minority is that thinks it’s a good idea for a reckless and unstable commander in chief with vacancies in many crucial national-security posts to attack a Muslim nation with a population of more than 80 million and dangerous proxy forces throughout the region, the answer is … Republicans. By a 24-point margin, 55% to 31%, they support another Middle East war.