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Trump To Be Impeached Exactly 21 Years After Clinton; Here’s How It Impacted Clinton In Polls

   DailyWire.com
President Donald Trump greets former President Bill Clinton at the Inaugural Luncheon in the US Capitol January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump will attend the luncheon along with other dignitaries. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)
Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

In a remarkable coincidence, Republican President Donald Trump is poised to be officially impeached by the Democrats in the House exactly 21 years after Democratic President Bill Clinton.

Then-President Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House on Dec. 19, 1998 by a vote of 258-176. After two years of the Nancy Pelosi-led Democrats floating various rationales for impeaching Trump, they landed on alleged “obstruction of Congress” and “abuse of power” related to allegations that Trump attempted to “pressure” Ukraine into conducting investigations that might benefit him politically by temporarily withholding U.S. security aid. The date for the big vote has ended up being Dec. 18, 2o19.

While the dates for the House votes on impeachment for the two presidents are identical, the charges, of course, are very different. Clinton was impeached for lying under oath and obstruction of justice after Independent Counsel Ken Starr’s famous report finding the president lied about his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Trump is likewise being impeached for two alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors”: obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

While the Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote to impeach Trump on the two articles on completely partisan lines — with opposition to the impeachment likely to be bipartisan — the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to clear him. Clinton, too, was ultimately acquitted by the Senate, which shut down the first article by a vote of 45-55 and 50-50 on the second.

So what to expect for Trump if the impeachment scenario plays out as expected? If Clinton’s post-impeachment performance is any indication, Trump will likely continue to see the positive trend that has begun since the beginning of the public impeachment hearings conducted by the House Democrats.

Post-impeachment, Clinton’s approval rating rose to its highest percentage of his presidency, 73%, in 1999, and he left office with a solid 65% approval, the highest for an outgoing president in decades.

Trump will undoubtedly never enjoy those high numbers, as he has consistently polled in the 40s in most polls, but recent trends suggest that he will continue to have solid enough support that he could be hard to beat in 2020.

Real Clear Politics‘ average of the major national polls currently shows Trump at 44.5% approval and 51.9% disapproval, up from 41.6 and 55% in mid-October. The RCP average is one of the best numbers for Trump since he was first inaugurated. Emerson currently gives Trump a 46-49 split, Reuters/Ipsos 45-53, and Rasmussen‘s daily tracking poll shows Trump at 49-49:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 49% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 38% who Strongly Approve of the job Trump is doing and 41% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -3.

Rasmussen’s tracking poll, which generally gives Trump more favorable numbers than other major pollsters, has consistently shown him earning similar approval ratings to Barack Obama at the same period in his presidency, and frequently better. Obama went on to easily win re-election.

Battleground state polls also show Trump trending in the right direction, including recent surveys of three key Rust Belt battleground states. As The Daily Wire reported, a Firehouse Strategies’ survey of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania released last week found Trump surging ahead of all of the Democratic frontrunners in all three states.

The poll found that in Michigan, Trump now leads Joe Biden by 5 points (46-41), Elizabeth Warren by 9 points (47-38), Bernie Sanders by 6 points (48-42), Pete Buttigieg by 11 points (48-37), and Michael Bloomberg by 11 points (48-37). In Pennsylvania, Trump beats Biden by 5 points (46-41), Warren by 7 points (47-40), Sanders by 10 points (48-38), Buttigieg by 6 points (46-40), and Bloomberg by 4 points (45-41). It’s even worse for Democrats in Wisconsin, where Trump now leads Biden by 9 points (48-39), Warren by 13 points (50-37), Sanders by 13 points (51-38), Buttigieg by 11 points (49-38), and Bloomberg by 14 points (49-37).

Related: ‘Major Warning Signs’ For Democrats: Focus Group Shows Impeachment Helping Turn Obama/Trump Swing Voters Into Full MAGA

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