'It's so beyond the pale': Ex-insider says overlooked Trump move should get him impeached
Americans mostly "shrugged" when Donald Trump made a move that should get him impeached, according to a former GOP lawmaker.
Recently, the president called for two of his perceived political enemies from Illinois to be sent to prison. It was covered by the media, but people mostly moved on quickly, according to former Tea Party Republican Joe Walsh.
In an article called You're Damn Right I'm Shocked, Walsh unleashed a profanity-laced "meltdown" on the subject.
"The President of the United States today publicly said that the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois should be behind f------ bars. He called for their imprisonment. Publicly. We should all be shocked by that," he wrote. "I read his post this morning, and I admit that I wasn’t shocked. My reaction was: That’s a fascist. He’s a fascist. That’s fascism. He’s militarizing our streets. He’s trying to create a police state. And now he’s demanding that his political opponents—state and local officials—are thrown in jail. Fascism."
Walsh went on to condemn his own lack of surprise at the news.
"But there was no surprise. That’s who and what he is. And then I stopped myself and said, 'No, dammit! Joe, no.' Because that’s wrong. It’s so out of line. It’s so beyond the pale. To not be shocked by that is a failure on my part. Shame on me," he wrote. "Then, you know the drill. If any other president had said that—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, any other president—if they had called publicly for two state and local officials that they didn’t like to be thrown in jail for no reason, it would be the biggest story in the world. If we had a functional Congress, there would be impeachment proceedings. Immediately."
He continued:
"But because it’s Trump, we just shrug. Because it’s Trump, we say, 'That’s just Trump.' Because it’s Trump, we just look away. Because it’s Trump, we ignore it. Because it’s Trump, we are no longer shocked. We are no longer outraged. That’s on us. He wins. When we stop being shocked, when we stop being outraged, he wins. We lose."
According to Walsh, "He should be tossed out of office because of that. He should be impeached for calling for the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois to be jailed."
Zoomed-in photo of Attorney General Pam Bondi's notes while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT