Despite how damning the previous week of testimony was for President Donald Trump and his inner circle, there is no indication that Republicans in the House are prepared to back impeachment, or that Republicans in the Senate are prepared to convict him if he is impeached.
But as Marc Fisher and Mike DeBonis wrote for the Washington Post, even many Republicans who are hard "nos" on impeachment are grousing about how "politically difficult" Trump is making it for them to defend his behavior.
"Even as the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was testifying before the committee and a national TV audience, Trump tweeted that 'Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,' an assertion unmoored from her record as a diplomat serving in seven countries," wrote Fisher and DeBonis. "Democrats called the attack 'witness intimidation,' and although most Republicans were publicly quiet, some privately felt that the president they were avidly defending had kneecapped them, according to House Republicans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they didn’t want to be seen as publicly breaking with their colleagues."
"We Republicans were going to say, 'She's had an excellent career, but she wasn’t there in the decisive moments, so thank you for testifying, have a nice day,'" said Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who is retiring next year. "Then he attacked her, and that set a tone. It makes it more uncomfortable for people ... It makes it more politically difficult for us, but it doesn't change how we'll vote on impeachment."
"His comments complicate things," agreed Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK). "Traditional politicians, including me, have a difficult time figuring out what he means. But the president is probably as popular as any Republican president has been within the party. When we go home, the criticism you get is for not being forceful enough in defending the president. Every Republican here knows the reality."
As long as Republicans face this reality, they are unlikely to do anything to hold the president accountable. But that becomes increasingly difficult as Trump constantly steamrolls over their attempts to defend him to the American people.
