WASHINGTON (AP) Notwithstanding the on-going impeachment inquiry against President Trump of America, majority of Republicans 85% are supportive of Trump’s job in office. Overall, 42% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the job, in line with where he has been throughout his tenure. Just 7% of Democrats have a positive view of Trump as president, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Trump’s job approval rating and other markers in the survey underscore the deeply divisive nature of his presidency, with Republicans largely favoring his actions and Democrats overwhelmingly disapproving. As Trump eyes his reelection campaign, it suggests his path to victory will hinge on rallying higher turnout among his core supporters as opposed to persuading new voters to back his bid for a second term.
The president has leaned into that strategy during the impeachment process, casting the investigations as politically motivated and repeatedly disparaging his opponents, often in bitingly personal terms. It’s the same strategy he’s used to buoy his supporters throughout his nearly three years in office.
“The Democrats will not let the president do his job,” said Robert Little, a 73-year-old Republican from Kannapolis, North Carolina. “Ever since he’s been in office, he’s done a lot of good things for the United States, but the Democrats’ only agenda is to get rid of Trump.”
The biggest bright spot for Trump remains the economy, which has continued to grow despite warning signs of a downturn. Fifty-four percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, including a quarter of Democrats.
Trump inherited a growing economy from his predecessor, Barack Obama, and the trajectory has remained positive, with the unemployment rate hovering below 4%. But economists have warned that Trump’s push to levy tariffs on China puts economic gains at risk, and a majority of Americans, 55%, disapprove of Trump’s handling of trade negotiations with other countries. (CNN)
Meanwhile, a sharply divided House on October 31 voted to approve a resolution setting “ground rules” for the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, putting lawmakers on record over the contentious process while setting the stage for proceedings to move into the public eye after weeks of closed-door depositions.
The measure passed largely along party lines, 232-196. Two Democrats defected on the vote.
The first formal floor vote in relation to the impeachment probe announced a month ago by Speaker Nancy Pelosi followed a fierce debate in the chamber, where Republicans accused Democrats of launching a de facto “coup” against the president in a “pre-ordained” bid to overturn the results of the 2016 election.
“A yes vote on this resolution today gives a stamp of approval to a process that has been damaged beyond all repair and a blatant and obvious coup to unseat a sitting president of the United States,” Rep. Ross Spano, R-Fla., said.
Democrats, though, maintained that the president’s own actions pressing Ukraine to launch politically related investigations, and allegedly using military aid as leverage brought the country to this point.
“I do not take any pleasure in the need for this resolution,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said. “We are here because the facts compel us to be here.”
Showmanship and heated rhetoric marked the lead-up to the vote. Pelosi stood beside a giant placard of an American flag while declaring Congress was “defending our democracy.”
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., accused Democrats of being part of a “cult,” suggesting Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is their leader.
Trump tweeted after the vote: “The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham maintained in a statement that the president has done nothing wrong.
“With today’s vote, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have done nothing more than enshrine unacceptable violations of due process into House rules,” she said.
No Republicans voted for the measure on Thursday, while two Democrats voted against it: Reps. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn.
Republicans for weeks had challenged Pelosi to hold a floor vote, complaining the inquiry hasn’t followed past precedent and violates the president’s due process rights. While she finally gave in to those demands in a bid to mute their complaints about process, GOP lawmakers continued to call the inquiry a “sham” while complaining that the newly unveiled rules still limit their authority including by requiring the consent of Democratic chairs to subpoena witnesses.
McGovern introduced the resolution earlier this week, while defending the process and claiming it was not partisan.
“It’s about transparency and it’s about due process for the president,” McGovern said. “Some on the other side will never be satisfied with any process.”
The resolution directs the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees to “continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump.”
The Democrats’ resolution specifies that Republicans in the minority on the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will have the authority, with the concurrence of committee chairs in the majority, to subpoena witnesses and compel their testimony.
If the chair does not consent, the minority can appeal to the full committee. It is common in other proceedings for committee chairs to essentially have veto authority over subpoenas sought by ranking minority members.
The measure also sets the stage for proceedings to move into a public setting soon.
The resolution authorizes the Intelligence Committee to conduct an “open hearing or hearings” in which minority Republicans have equal time to question witnesses.
And, after that hearing is concluded, “to allow for a full evaluation of minority witness requests, the ranking minority member may submit to the chair, in writing, any requests for witness testimony relevant to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution within 72 hours after notice is given.”
McGovern has argued, and maintained on Thursday,
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