Polling suggests Trump’s recent victories are so far having limited impact on public opinion. A survey by CNN released on the eve of the trial showed that a majority of Americans -- 51% -- support the Senate voting to remove the president from office.
The trial could still produce surprises, but Trump’s acquittal is almost guaranteed in the majority-Republican chamber. And defeating Democrats’ impeachment efforts could leave Trump emboldened as he heads into Congress to make his State of the Union address next month.
Provided he’s acquitted, Trump will surely turn his impeachment saga into more red meat for a political base that thrives on grievance.
‘Good One Now’
Trump hasn’t wasted any time in claiming victory. He swiftly added the Soleimani killing to his script at campaign events, boasting at a Milwaukee rally Jan. 9 that the general “was responsible for murdering and wounding thousands of Americans and was actively planning new attacks, and we stopped him cold.”
He provided details of the killing that previously hadn’t been made public to wealthy donors at a fund-raiser at his Palm Beach, Florida resort on January 17, according to the Washington Post, which obtained a partial recording of the event.
Trump seizes any opportunity to talk about the passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and the China deal, which could together add three-quarters of a percentage point to growth, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
He boasted about the deals in Davos to an audience of global business leaders who are generally seen as pro-trade although one critic, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, circulated a memo to delegates challenging Trump’s economic record.
But the president also took the opportunity to claim credit for the economy last week when he met the 2019 NCAA champion football team from Louisiana State University.
As he invited the players and coaches to take photos in the Oval Office, Trump expressed his characteristic disbelief that Democrats have tried to remove him from office despite the soaring U.S. stock market and economic growth.
“We’ll take pictures behind the Resolute Desk. It’s been there a long time. A lot of presidents -- some good, some not so good,” Trump said. “But you got a good one now, even though they’re trying to impeach the son of a bitch. Can you believe that?”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.