The Polarization of Trump’s Impeachment
By Franchetta Groves
Donald Trump is facing possible impeachment charges for allegedly bribing the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to look into political opponent, Joe Biden, and his actions to protect son, Hunter Biden.
Since the start of his presidency, Donald Trump has faced various accusations of scandal and calls for impeachment. Now with the majority in the house being democrats, Trump faces the very real possibility of facing impeachment charges.
The specific charges come from a phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky, which occurred on July 25, 2019. The unclassified phone call transcript exposes how President Trump discussed with President Zelensky regarding a possible investigation after the firing of the solicitor general in Ukraine. In the phone call, Donald Trump voiced concerns about corruption between the Bidens and the Ukranian government.
In his phone call, President Trump charges Biden with interference of the prosecution in Ukraine, thus abusing his power. However, with President Trump allegedly withholding aid from Ukraine in exchange for political power, he faces possible charges of abusing his political power and misuse of funds from congress, an impeachable offense.
Trump defended the phone call to Ukraine and dismissed it as unworthy of investigation, but many others may not feel the same way. A recent poll by YouGov found that 55% of Americans believed the investigation to be necessary. When split by party alliance however there is a divide among support for the inquiries.
Among Democrats, 87% approved of the impeachment inquiry, while 77% of Republicans disapprove. Impeachment is one way that Congress can enact its checks and balances over the President, regardless of political party. However, the recent poll suggests that it is and will be a partisan issue. Here at The Catholic University of America, it seems to be a divisive issue.
“I think this impeachment is absolutely absurd and intellectually dishonest to hold one standard for Trump,” said freshman Emily Martinsen, who is a member of the College Republicans. “But when Bill Clinton faced impeachment charges in the nineties, it [was] uncalled for. You have to be level headed and assume objectivity.”
Yet, when talking to other students, other perspectives are heard on the story.
“[Impeachment] is necessary because the president exhorted a foreign country”, is what Molly DiMaria, member of the College Democrats, commented.
In this way, the issue of impeachment has seemingly become a partisan issue. Many people have an opinion on the issue of impeachment, and very often political alliance can play a factor on one’s view. The process of impeachment being a power of the House of Representatives and Democrats having the majority in the House is making impeachment a very real possibility for Trump. The Republicans having a majority in the Senate and a two-thirds majority vote needed to remove President Trump from office, makes this possibility less likely. As the impeachment inquiry continues and the investigation takes place, the partisanship of impeachment will likely continue to have a polarizing effect on not only our campus but our country.
