Trump reportedly furious about second impeachment vote, but believes move will backfire on Dems

President Trump is furious about Wednesday afternoon's second impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives, though he believes the move by the Democrat-led chamber will ultimately harm the incoming administration and Democrats' future election prospects, political and legal advisers told Just the News Wednesday.

Shortly after 4:35 p.m. on Wednesday, 10 Republicans joined all Democrats in a 232-197 vote for a single impeachment count of "incitement of insurrection." Led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the vote made Trump the only president in American history to have been impeached twice. The vote came one week before President Trump leaves office on Jan. 20 and one week after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the U.S. Capitol, resulting in five deaths.

The president now faces a Senate trial after his term ends, since current Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has indicated that a trial won't begin until Trump is out of office. By that time, two new Democratic senators from Georgia will be sworn in, handing control of that body to Democrats led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Under the U.S. Constitution, the Senate could vote on barring him from future elective office if he is convicted, though political observers, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), say Senate Democrats do not have the votes to convict Trump. 

"The impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witch hunt in the history of our country, and it is causing tremendous anger and division and pain — far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time," Trump said Tuesday afternoon while visiting Reynosa–McAllen, Texas at the 450th mile of new border wall constructed along the Mexico–United States Border.

"As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting America's history and traditions, not tearing them down," said the president. "We believe in the rule of law, not in violence or rioting."

A source close to the president who spoke with him on Monday told Just the News that Trump is reportedly most upset about Republicans he perceives as disloyal, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and outgoing Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), whom Trump campaigned heavily for prior to her Jan. 5 loss to Democratic Senator-elect Ralphael Warnock. 

Jason Miller, a Trump 2020 senior adviser, said Republican voters perceive Wednesday's move as a political ploy and are upset at the Republicans who voted to impeach, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is House Republican Conference Chair, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership.

"I think these folks have probably run for their last successful term," Miller told Just the News on Wednesday. "I think that the voters, when you have this level of anger from the voters, I wouldn't expect to see these folks back. I think Liz Cheney could possibly be dumped from her leadership position — something that Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz and others have called for — I hope that is the case — how someone like this could be our number three ranking Republican."

Polling in 17 swing states conducted Jan. 10-11 — following the Capitol riot — for Trump's Save America PAC by pollster John McLaughlin found that 77% of all voters think Congress should make its priority this week dealing with the coronavirus, while only 23% prefer impeaching President Trump. Trump has a 49% job approval rating in the battleground states surveyed by the Save America PAC, and the generic vote for Congress favors the Republicans over the Democrats 49% to 42%. 

"This is going to backfire against Democrats, because here they are, they're taking control of a country that's still in the midst of a global pandemic and is concerned about the economic recovery," McLaughlin, who polled for the president's 2020 campaign, told Just the News on Wednesday. "People are concerned about their jobs, their rent, their families. And here they are, doing the same thing they did last January, where they're impeaching the president ... They should have been taking care of the virus."

The polling also found Congress receives a strongly negative job rating: 28% approve to 72% disapprove.

"It's Groundhog Day," McLaughlin said. "They're doing the same thing again, except the country's more stressed out, more anxious, and they're probably provoking violence."

McLaughlin also found that 48% of all voters are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes to impeach the president. Only 36% are more likely, while 80% of Trump voters and 76% of Republicans are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes for impeachment.

"The president will be fine for this, I mean, his base is still intact, his base is solid," McLaughlin said. "And as the Democrats fail, there's going to be buyer's remorse. There's going to be people that say, 'This was a mistake.' If Biden's policies don't work, or if Biden doesn't last as president and Harris becomes president and those policies don't work, just like when Jimmy Carter failed Ronald Reagan got elected in a landslide."