# Republicans: What would it take to impeach Donald Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 11, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505 "2016-11-11T15:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/41 "2016-11-12T00:31:01Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That is worrisome. The only thing that gets a President to leave is his own honor. If Trump did decide to retain the office, there is really no legal way he could be removed. As commander in chief, the military would be legally obligated to follow his orders. He could order an armored division to surround the White House and keep out any local > Police or Federal Marshals. > > The country has been very lucky so far that every President has chosen to gracefully depart; a President that refused could literally become a dictator for life with no real recourse from the country. > > Dark times indeed. > > Wait. > > Does that sound right? It seems like it wouldn’t be, somehow. What do you think? Really? Do you actually believe what you wrote? The people and military will blindly follow the person sitting in the oval office after the next election? The term ends upon the inauguration of the next president as determined by the constitutional process. Just because someone says I ain’t leaving doesn’t usurp the process. Martial law declaration before the election though hasn’t been tried. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/42 "2016-11-12T00:38:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That is worrisome. The only thing that gets a President to leave is his own honor. If Trump did decide to retain the office, there is really no legal way he could be removed. As commander in chief, the military would be legally obligated to follow his orders… Only until noon on Inauguration Day, after that he ceases to be Commander-in-Chief and his orders cease to have any legal effect. Any soldier obeying him over the newly sworn President would be guilty of treason. ---
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/43 "2016-11-12T00:39:01Z")
I have posted elsewhere that I think Republicans would not mind impeaching Trump and that after a year Democrats will be a source of protection against this. One idea along these lines: I believe that there currently exists no law requiring POTUS to put his/her assets into a blind trust while they are in office. Say Congress passes such a law, Trump objects, Trump complies…sorta, Trump weasels, Trump perjures, Trump obstructs justice, Trump get charged same as Bill. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/44 "2016-11-12T01:02:27Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Really? Do you actually believe what you wrote? The people and military will blindly follow the person sitting in the oval office after the next election? The term ends upon the inauguration of the next president as determined by the constitutional process. Just because someone says I ain’t leaving doesn’t usurp the process. Martial law declaration before the election though hasn’t been tried. I personally never said they would “blindly follow the person sitting in the oval office.” Some now in government will likely resign in protest rather than follow Trump’s illegal orders. If there’s a general officer Trump finds to be other than a blind follower, and the man won’t resign, the President can relieve that general of command. Others will follow with great reluctance. And others – lots of others – will become Trumpkins, if they aren’t already. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Any soldier obeying him over the newly sworn President would be guilty of treason. I don’t see that as falling in the Constitutional definition of treason. What you are describing is a full-blown constitutional crisis. Trump’s talk of a rigged election was dangerous to American democracy when he was merely a candidate. It would be much more dangerous coming from an incumbent. And isn’t that just what we are walking into? I don’t 1000 percent agree with this, mostly because I still have a deep belief in politeness, but it has to be taken seriously: [Autocracy: Rules for Survival](http://www2.nybooks.com/daily/s3/nov/10/trump-election-autocracy-rules-for-survival.html) ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/45 "2016-11-12T02:05:02Z")
I think Russian ties are the only “safe” reason for the GOP not to have to worry about pissing off their base too much. NO ONE wants him to really be Putin’s puppet. Also, since he used to be a Democrat, if he goes rogue and did something far to the left. Not JUST that, mind you, but if he isn’t in line with Congress often enough and they feel it won’t cost them in 2018, I’m sure they could find something. They’d play themselves up as the heroes that saved us from him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/46 "2016-11-12T02:20:02Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You don’t understand the fraud trial, I take it? > > Can you explain how a pardon is remotely applicable here? Sorry, had to go do work-type stuff. I had meant to say that that would have been _Trump’s_ master plan. I fully understand how pardons work, but I have a feeling his understanding of what kind of power the President does and doesn’t have is pretty fucking vague. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/47 "2016-11-12T03:08:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Sorry, had to go do work-type stuff. I had meant to say that that would have been _Trump’s_ master plan. I fully understand how pardons work, but I have a feeling his understanding of what kind of power the President does and doesn’t have is pretty fucking vague. No argument there. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/48 "2016-11-12T05:41:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No argument there. Much like his understanding of what a “blind trust” is, for example. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/49 "2016-11-12T16:19:44Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > He’s already back-tracking on his campaign promises. At the rate he’s going, he won’t have any left when he’s sworn in. Maybe Trump could promise to close GITMO? That worked so well for Obama. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/50 "2016-11-12T16:24:30Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Maybe Trump could promise to close GITMO? That worked so well for Obama. 😉 Speaking of Gitmo analogies, I predict that The Wall will be Trump’s Gitmo: a promise that he’ll never be able to keep, but will be constantly reminded of for 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/51 "2016-11-12T16:29:54Z")
Bah I can’t even read this stuff anymore. With luck, I’ll still be alive by the time America unfucks itself from the next administration. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/52 "2016-11-12T16:49:13Z")
“Impeach” means to charge the holder of a public office with misconduct or an actual crime. (It also means to call into question the integrity of a statement or a witness, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what the OP means). Is the OP asking what crime would be so great that a Republican legislature would impeach Trump? Trump is no Ronald Reagan, so I think that he actually would get impeached if he committed an impeachable transgression, and not given a pass, if that is what the OP is suggesting might happen, although I do not think that something like lying about sexual exploits would get him impeached, which is what happened to Clinton, under the flimsy premise that he had lied under oath, something that was just terrible, no matter what the substance of the lie was. Is the question this: given that Trump is not particularly informed about how the government actually works, seems to think the president is magic, and does not appear to have even read the constitution, is it extremely likely that he will do something stupid that someone looking for an excuse to impeach could work up into a charge? Probably. Will this happen? I doubt it. Now, how likely is it that he will do something serious? Well, he was accused of raping a 13-year-old. That’s a pretty serious skeleton to have in his closet. I’m not sure if he can be impeached for things he did before he was elected-- it might be that the charges will just be put on hold until he leaves office-- but he is obviously capable of awful stuff. Can he refrain for four years? If he can’t, then I don’t see how the legislature can NOT impeach him. But then, I didn’t see how they could get away with not doing their jobs otherwise when they wouldn’t hold confirmation hearings for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. I think he is more capable of an impeachable offense than anyone in my lifetime, including Richard Nixon, and I think he is less popular with the legislature than any recent Republican president. Ford wasn’t popular, but it was more of a “Meh,” than an “Oh my gawd, what have we done?” But impeachment that looked like a slam dunk would almost certainly result ultimately in Mike Pence as president. I’m not sure he would be a popular president either, and a very bad risk as an incumbent in 2020. So Pence may be impeachment insurance. I have a question: is it inevitable that a conviction would result in removal from office? While I am as heartsick as anyone that Hillary Clinton didn’t win, I have lived in Indiana under Mike Pence, and am not anxious to see who he would appoint to the Supreme Court. For example, I don’t think Trump would have a problem appointing a Jew, or someone who professed no strong religious convictions; I think Pence would have a “church test” in the back of his head. The man is scary for Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/53 "2016-11-12T16:54:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’ve heard several times, both in these threads and elsewhere, that I have no reason to worry because the Republican led Congress will impeach Trump before he goes too far. > The same Republicans that promised he would never get become a serious candidate. > The same Republicans that promised he would never come out on top. > The same Republicans that promised his ass would be grass come convention time. > The same Republicans that promised they would never support him or vote for him. > > What exactly would Donald Trump have to do and/or say to convince this Republican-led Congress to successfully impeach him? Commit a felony like Bill Clinton did. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/54 "2016-11-12T17:13:42Z")
**Bricker** , I have to hope that you meant that sarcastically, because you really ought to know better. If Trump gets voted out of office, but refuses to stand down, then come inauguration day, the new President is sworn in, and then the President orders the appropriate federal law enforcement bodies to arrest private citizen Donald Trump for the crime of trespassing. Those law enforcement bodies then physically remove Trump from the White House, using whatever level of force is needed (and which escalation could even include the US military, if the new president so orders). During this process, it would not matter what Trump said, because he would no longer be the President, and so would not have any standing to issue any sort of orders to anyone. Now, of course, it is possible that Trump could become so popular among the law enforcement and military communities that a significant fraction of those communities would continue doing what he says, despite him having no legal authority, and against the orders of those who do have legal authority. But that’s no longer just a case of a President refusing to leave gracefully; that’s a military coup d’etat, and is just as much of a risk even without President Trump (perhaps more so without him, with some general or other taking the leadership position). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/55 "2016-11-12T17:14:54Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Commit a felony like Bill Clinton did. So you believe a woman who denied being raped, even signed an affidavit to that effect but you don’t believe a 13 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/56 "2016-11-12T17:17:37Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Speaking of Gitmo analogies, I predict that The Wall will be Trump’s Gitmo: a promise that he’ll never be able to keep, but will be constantly reminded of for 4 years. Unless I’m missing something, the wall should actually be one of the \*easiest \*promises to keep. Just earmark the funding, select the contractors and have it built. Forget the Mexico paying for it thing, Trump could just manipulate some figures in cross-border trade and make it sound like it’s being paid for by Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/57 "2016-11-12T17:40:49Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Speaking of Gitmo analogies, I predict that The Wall will be Trump’s Gitmo: a promise that he’ll never be able to keep, but will be constantly reminded of for 4 years. IMHO, a wall isn’t needed. What’s needed are laws making it illegal to hire illegal aliens. And strict enforcement of those laws. _Buh bye illegal aliens._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/58 "2016-11-12T18:08:18Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Does that sound right? It seems like it wouldn’t be, somehow. What do you think? > [@Chronos](#): > > **Bricker** , I have to hope that you meant that sarcastically, because you really ought to know better. Socratic method, _amigo_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/59 "2016-11-12T23:23:04Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > IMHO, a wall isn’t needed. What’s needed are laws making it illegal to hire illegal aliens. And strict enforcement of those laws. _Buh bye illegal aliens._ Eeeyeahrite. And where’s _that_ funding going to come from? Maybe if they stopped spending on the war on drugs… Oh, but wait, Republicans are the party of lower taxes… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505/60 "2016-11-13T06:17:42Z")
I don’t think Trump will be impeached by the GOP Congress. First, modern GOP politicians are cravenly authoritarian. Trump is the Leader, the Decider, and must be followed though he lead them to Hell. Second, the party want to win elections. Trump’s promised racial purges, however illegal, are useful in the ongoing war for total control of the USA. “Why should I defend people who were never going to vote for me? And after all, those minorities didn’t vote for the GOP and the Culture of Life, so they chose to die, right?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-what-would-it-take-to-impeach-donald-trump/771505.md?page=4)