Calls for Trump impeachment surging among his Republican backers

Calls for President Donald Trump's impeachment are nothing new, but more and more, the calls are coming from inside the house, as it were.On Thursday, Strength in Numbers, a data-driven news outlet, released a new poll conducted throughout April in conjunction with VeraSight. According to its findings, support for impeaching Trump is nearing historic thresholds, "in the neighborhood" of the numbers for Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal, and Trump himself during his first term.The poll found that around 55 percent of Americans would support impeaching Trump if a vote were held now, with 37 percent opposing the idea, and 8 percent saying that they were unsure. The data also showed a damning "intensity gap" in Trump's approval rating, showing that voters who oppose him are more prevalent and more committed."As for the president’s overall approval rating, there is a strong intensity gap in responses to our poll," the report explained. "Overall, 45 percent of all adults say they strongly support impeachment, while only 30 percent say they strongly oppose it. That is a 15-point intensity gap in favor of impeachment — the people who want Trump out are both more numerous and more committed than the people who want him to stay."The report found damning numbers that showed "support for impeachment extends well beyond the Democratic base," encompassing a growing contingent of "Republicans, Trump’s 2024 voters and seniors," leaving him with almost no demographic to fall back on. About one in five Trump voters surveyed by the poll said that they would support impeaching him under the current circumstances."On the other side, independents (including leaners) split 50-28 in favor, and non-voters, who may have slightly voted for Trump over Harris in 2024, back impeachment 53-25," the report continued. "But also of note is that 21 percent of Trump’s own 2024 voters now say he should be impeached. That’s roughly one out of every five of the people who put him back in office."Earlier this month, Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, introduced 13 articles of impeachment against Trump, with more than 85 House members publicly backing either impeachment or removing Trump via the 25th Amendment. Strength in Numbers' report noted that it is impossible to imagine Trump being impeached under the current GOP-led Congress, but it did see a major "mandate" from the public for a future Democratic Congress to do so after the midterms."If Democrats win the majority in November, they will walk into their first session in January 2027 with a public mandate for impeachment already in hand," the report concluded. "Of course, the Senate would still need to vote to convict the president for the impeachment to have any effect in the real world (this poll does not speak to support for removal, especially in key states), and that is an uphill battle. But for the first time since Trump returned to office, the polls are indicating Americans support impeaching their president — for a third time. That is itself a serious indictment against his presidency."