Why won’t they impeach Trump? A dread of Pence
VISITING my friends in Florida over the past week, they pointed out that nobody who voted for Trump or Hillary predicted that politics would become so utterly exhausting. From early morning to very late at night TV, radio and social media tries to keep up with the American president’s latest outburst. I pointed out to them that we are exhausted too. Little did we know that Brexit would dominate our daily discourse for nearly 200 days since the referendum in June last year.
They believe that Trump and Brexit have two things in common – apart from simply wearing us out – if there were another vote tomorrow the results on both sides of the Atlantic would be different.
However, they were adamant that there is not going to be any change at the top in America. Likewise, it appears that if there were a second vote on Brexit it would go the other way – but the chances of a second referendum are zero.
While we in Ireland often hear the word impeachment and Trump in the same sentence, my Floridian friends say there is no chance of this happening, mainly because the prospect of a Pence presidency is even more daunting.
The vice-president’s views and actions, while he was governor of Indiana, on social issues are much more unpalatable than the US president’s unending ‘BS’.
Yes, Americans laughed when Trump referred to Kim Jong-Un as ‘Rocket Man on a suicide mission’ – in truth they were much more concerned about Hurricane Irma than the hot air blowing about North Korea.
But Americans are still obsessed about Russia. All the TV talk shows – which incidentally most American cars can tune into on their car radios – are dominated by the ins and outs of the Russian involvement in last year’s election.
Americans were interested in Hillary Clinton’s new bestselling book – What Happened – for tales of Russian interference. But they were disappointed. They tired when she railed against Bernie Sanders, who may be the hero of the Irish left at his sellout appearance in Dublin two months ago, but is regarded as a totally marginal figure Stateside. Of course, none of the Irish left who cheered Bernie to the rafters in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre seemed to be aware that he introduced water, bin and property taxes when he was mayor of Vermont.
The Russian obsession was taken up by Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman, who posted a video as part of a new group, the committee to investigate Russia. The Shawshank Redemption star accused Vladimir Putin of declaring war on the USA.
Americans were also quick to spot that Trump didn’t exactly get a big world turnout for his first address to the UN, normally a highly prestigious occasion.
The leaders who Trump claims he has managed to charm since entering the Oval Office, from China, Russia and Saudi Arabia to France and Germany, all failed to turn up for his big night. Numbers just like his inauguration back in January weren’t as impressive as he let on. Trump is here to stay. So is Brexit – and it’s going to be one hell of an exhausting ride.