In a column from last August I found it "highly unlikely that Trump wouldn't be impeached, even by a Republican Congress, within six months or so of assuming the presidency; perhaps as a necessary act of communal hygiene."
So it should come as no surprise that the "I" word is already being tossed about.
Donald Trump is what and who we thought he was, even more so. The hope that he would "pivot" and become more "presidential" after assuming the presidency has vanished. Those of us who saw potential tragedy for the republic in the dismal choice between him and Hillary Clinton have been unfortunately vindicated.
But Trump hasn't simply jumped what Charles Krauthammer calls the "guardrails" of our democratic system. He has dealt devastating, perhaps irreversible blows to the Democratic Party and the mass media as well.
If Barack Obama severely weakened the Democratic Party, Trump has now come close to finishing it off altogether, as bitter defeat pushes it toward the leftward lunatic fringe and eventual electoral impotence. Ordinarily, a president with a 55 percent unfavorable rating just a few months into his presidency would be a godsend for the opposition, but not so for the Democrats, who have essentially opted out of any role in American governance by adopting a posture of mindless obstructionism that doesn't obstruct and only further scares away middle America.
The Democrats could have kept calm, shaken their heads in sadness at the sorry spectacle and thereby presented themselves as the safe, reasonable alternative. They have instead been driven into a frothing-at-the-mouth frenzy that actually makes Trump look sane by comparison.
The media, too, have been badly damaged. That Trump, given his nature and behavior, would receive worse press than other presidents is not surprising, but the results of the recent study by Harvard's Kennedy School on media coverage of his administration are nonetheless stunning (93-7 percent negative to positive at CNN and NBC, 91-9 percent at CBS).
The contrast with the softball, protective media treatment of Obama's more ideologically congenial administration is difficult to ignore.
The mass media, with a few exceptions (Fox News, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal), has of course long tilted leftward consistent with the political views of most reporters, news producers, and editors, but with Trump the mask has dropped altogether and mainstream news outlets now openly operate as adjuncts of the Democratic Party and the "resistance."
When the media adopts a political agenda--in this case taking down a troubling but legitimately elected president--trust is inevitably forfeited, and whatever it reports will be viewed with skepticism, even when important and true.
As horrible as Trump has often been, it seems probable that most Americans think the Democrats and their media auxiliaries are even worse. A destructive triangular relationship has developed in which Trump, the Democrats, and the media feed off of and bring out the worst in each other.
Thus, with the Democrats suffering from self-inflicted irrelevance and the media increasingly tuned out because it's viewed as untrustworthy, the fate of Trump more specifically and the Republic more broadly falls into Republican hands.
It is understandable, given the demands of partisanship in a hyper-polarized political environment, why some Republicans continue to support Trump, or at least strive to put the best face on whatever he does; he has been blessed all along by the right enemies, and the noxious behavior of the Democrats and media hardly deserves to be rewarded by Republicans offering up his scalp.
But in the end it is policy which counts most, and which makes the Republican-Democratic divide meaningful, and it is difficult to identify anything that Trump has thus far given conservatives that wouldn't have also been given and given more easily by a President Rubio, President Cruz, or even President Kasich. The gains in some areas have been real, but outweighed by all the craziness. Tax reform is hard enough as it is.
Most Democrats would have voted to impeach Trump the day of his inaugural, regardless of the charges or evidence, such is their self-destructive fury, but Republican morale is undoubtedly also suffering by having to daily defend the indefensible. Seldom has opening the morning newspaper been a more nerve-wracking experience.
"High crimes and misdemeanors" is an ambiguous constitutional standard, which means it is an inherently political one. Evidence of criminal conduct doesn't necessarily prevent acquittal, and lack of such evidence doesn't necessarily prevent conviction and removal.
Even if Trump is exonerated by the probe headed by Robert Mueller into alleged collusion with Vladimir Putin's minions, Trump being Trump, new outrages and scandals will have almost certainly emerged by then.
Impeachment is a momentous step under any circumstances, and impeaching one of your own (however nominal in Trump's case) would be a truly drastic step, but the idea of a Mike Pence administration grows more appealing with each passing day.
"Trump fatigue" is real, and it is almost inconceivable that we can go on this way for another three months, let alone three and a half years. If Trump won't change, the logic of politics suggests something else has to.
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Freelance columnist Bradley R. Gitz, who lives and teaches in Batesville, received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois.
Editorial on 05/29/2017