Buoyed by the recent guilty verdicts for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and guilty plea for former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, impeachment talk shifted into overdrive in the media.
But an impeachment remains highly unlikely in a Republican-controlled Congress — unless Republicans join in. That scenario, ridiculous as it is, was promoted in all seriousness by NBC’s Chuck Todd. Astonished, Fox News anchor Bret Baier had to remind Todd of reality. “That’s not going to happen,” Baier said.
Impeachment process
Todd engaged in an on-air rant Wednesday about how a “functional Washington” would already have launched investigations into Trump and currently be in the process of drawing up impeachment articles against him.
However, Todd thinks Washington is dysfunctional right now — because it is controlled by Republicans. The liberal host hopefully suggested a rift in the GOP might soon form between Trump’s supporters and the establishment Republicans who fear being dragged down with the president.
Todd further urged outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan to get the ball rolling on impeachment in the Judiciary Committee before he left D.C., which he believed would “actually do the party a favor” by creating a “home” for nervous Republicans opposed to Trump to gather in safety from their base.
Todd was not the only liberal pundit to suggest such things this week, but his remarks caught the ear of Fox’s Baier.
“Struck” by narrative shift
On WMAL’s “Mornings on the Mall” Friday, Bair remarked on how “struck” he had been by Todd’s impeachment talk.
“I was most struck of all the punditry — I think it was Chuck Todd who said that Paul Ryan should take the reigns and get the Judiciary Committee to start the impeachment process with Republicans leading the way and made this impassioned plea for Republicans to start the impeachment process,” explained Baier.
“I can tell you just from covering this place that’s not going to happen,” he accurately quipped.
Baier was asked what he thought was going through Todd’s head when he made those remarks, and Baier replied, “I don’t know, you’re going to have to ask Chuck.”
“I’m a friend of his but I thought it was interesting and it’s part of the narrative of, you know, we went from not talking about impeachment to it’s all impeachment,” he added. “Clearly you’re going to see more. It’s coming to a head.”
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Bret Baier is no huge supporter of the president, but even he realizes that Trump has done nothing thus far rising to the level of impeachment, not to mention the absurdity of thinking Republicans would lead the charge in impeaching their own party’s elected leader.