A Case For Impeaching Trump

The Atlantic's senior editor Yoni Applebaum delivers a stinging argument for the impeachment of demagogue and compromised Kremlin asset Donald "Rump" Trump in the March/April edition of The Atlantic. In his article, Applebaum makes the argument that by starting impeachment proceedings, the process itself will rein in a reckless and lawless Rump, and put a spotlight on his unfitness for office:

"On january 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol, raised his right hand, and solemnly swore to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He has not kept that promise.

Instead, he has mounted a concerted challenge to the separation of powers, to the rule of law, and to the civil liberties enshrined in our founding documents. He has purposefully inflamed America’s divisions. He has set himself against the American idea, the principle that all of us—of every race, gender, and creed—are created equal."

As for the concern that Trumpists would see impeachment as an coup d'etat, Applebaum notes that the Founders recognized the potential for a President abusing his authority between elections, and they instituted a process for curbing that:

"The electorate passes judgment on its presidents and their shortcomings every four years. But the Framers were concerned that a president could abuse his authority in ways that would undermine the democratic process and that could not wait to be addressed. So they created a mechanism for considering whether a president is subverting the rule of law or pursuing his own self-interest at the expense of the general welfare—in short, whether his continued tenure in office poses a threat to the republic. This mechanism is impeachment."

The entire article is lengthy, compelling and thought-provoking. It challenges the conventional wisdom that impeachment renders elections moot. Indeed, it may be the only recourse for preserving that right and others from an authoritarian demagogue.