This question came to my mind after I read two recent news articles:
- One said that there were 25-30 senators who could not stand Trump.
- McConnell said he was “coordinating” everything with the White House counsel.
And I got to wondering: could McConnell be looking for a way to save his Senate majority in 2020 while at the same time not riling up his base too much?
It would take over 20 Republican senators to join the Democrats in the Senate in voting to remove Trump from office. There are easily that many Republicans whose seats are safe, even if they vote against Trump. In fact, in certain districts, voting AGAINST Trump might actually help their re-election chances.
And what would McConnell get out of it? He would get a President Pence – an easily manipulated conservative figurehead, who would still approve all his judges and sign all his bills, but without the constant chaos and unpredictability of the Current Resident.
And the sooner the better, if that’s McConnell’s plan. Get it over with before 2020 gets here. Deal with the fall-out, put Pence out there as the logical nominee (or even someone better – Nikki Haley, anyone?), and shut down the Democrats’ talking point, all in one fell swoop.
I know, I know; it’s surely fantasy. McConnell has no plans to abandon Trump at this point. He plans on using the impeachment against the Dems all next year, and he has hitched his wagon to the Trump Death Star.
But if McConnell is the master strategist that everyone thinks he is, he surely has considered it. The denouement to end all denouements. The greatest head fake of all time. And a great way to flip the script for 2020.
Trump says he wants a full-blown trial in the Senate, with lots of witnesses. It will be interesting to see if McConnell finally allows that … followed by “After hearing from all these witnesses, it is our sad but necessary duty to remove President Trump from office.”
Be careful what you wish for, Donald John Trump. Machiavelli may be waiting.
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