It’s never fun when you’re in risk of getting fired. That problem is on another level when you’re president of the United States. Donald Trump reportedly responded to maybe being impeached, saying this is a “bad thing to have on your resume,” according to a source for Axios. The person was described as someone on POTUS’ phone call with Republican members of the House of Representatives on Friday. Two other sources reportedly confirmed the meaning of the statement; one of them, however, said they remembered Trump saying, “you don’t want it on your resume.”
Either way, the point is that the president voiced concern about having impeachment be part of his history.
With this report taken at face value, however, it turns out he’s got mixed feelings about it. He suggested that if he’s impeached, then it will “make Kevin [House] speaker.” That’s minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California, 23rd District). Trump’s explicit position is that impeachment will help the GOP in the 2020 election, even if it besmirches his legacy.
Calls for Trump’s impeachment and removal are older than his presidency. What changed, however, is news that he asked the Ukrainian president have Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, and son Hunter Biden investigated. The White House released documents showing that Trump did ask Zelensky to investigate the Bidens.
The allegation from team Trump is that Joe Biden, then vice president, got Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin pushed out for investigating Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Hunter Biden was on the board of directors for this business. Shokin indeed claimed that he was pushed out because he was running the investigation into the company.
There’s no substantive allegation of wrongdoing against the Bidens, however. It’s false. Shokin was pushed out amid allegations he was failing to investigate corruption. Republican politicians and local Ukrainians took part in supporting his ouster.
In any case, removing Trump is easier said than done. Republicans started his presidency controlling both houses of Congress. Even now, they command a slight lead in the Senate, which decides whether to remove an impeached president.
[Screengrab via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
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