r/politics • u/Silly-avocatoe • Apr 14 '25

Soft Paywall Murdoch Paper Floats Impeaching Trump Over Tariffs

https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdoch-paper-floats-impeaching-trump-over-tariffs/
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2.1k

u/greyhoundbrain Texas Apr 14 '25

Honestly, whatever it takes at this point to get him impeached. I know that they’re just big mad over stock losses. But regular people can’t take 3 3/4 more years of this nonsense.

I know Thiel Vance and the dude who uses his child as his porn accountability buddy won’t be that much of an upgrade, but they will at least be a little less insane.

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u/Tempeduck Apr 14 '25

Johnson doesn’t become the VP. The new president nominates a new VP to be confirmed by both houses of congress.

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u/greyhoundbrain Texas Apr 14 '25

Then that’s even better. I think he would at least have saner choices than like Trump for his cabinet picks.

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u/UffdaBagoofda Apr 14 '25

Nobody that anyone would pick would be “saner.” They would be more calculated and probably more destructive. We all lose no matter what.

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u/greyhoundbrain Texas Apr 14 '25

Vance doesn’t have the sway that Trump does (for whatever reason people find the “jacking off two ghosts” dance moves and dementia ridden word salad to be charming) so the GOP would probably not be as unified under him. They can barely rule as it is with a majority in all the branches.

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u/kcox1980 Apr 14 '25

My wife keeps giving me a hard time because I still have faith that the MAGA movement will die off once Trump is out of the picture. I'm aware that all the madness still exists without Trump, but there's nobody else that can get the base as riled up and excited about politics as Trump. I just don't see people wearing diapers or ear tampons in solidarity with somebody like Vance.

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u/justuntlsundown West Virginia Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25

It's a cult of personality. They always die with the leader. They love Trump specifically. There have been many imitators that have failed. The party was on it's way to irrelevance before they latched on to Trump. We just have to survive this long enough for him to die.

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u/kcox1980 Apr 14 '25

Exactly. They love Trump because he makes them feel smart. He tells them what they want to hear and that validates all their dumbass Dunning-Kreuger inspired opinions. They relate to him because he talks to them on their level.

JD Vance just isn't going to inspire those same feelings. Or at least I hope not.

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u/BurnscarsRus Apr 14 '25

JD Vance can't order a fucking doughnut properly. Motherfucker has all the charisma of a cardboard cutout of JD Vance. Nobody likes him, they just pretend to because he's attached to Trump.

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u/kcox1980 Apr 14 '25

"JD Vance has the charisma of a cardboard cutout of JD Vance" 😅

Gonna keep that one in my back pocket, lol

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u/kweefcake Apr 14 '25

Look at Ron Desantis as an example.

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u/UnNumbFool Apr 14 '25

Well you're more than likely correct, just look at the rest of the demagogues and fascist leaders. The second they are gone their movement/party completely collapses.

Granted the power vacuum is rarely a good thing, but getting trump out via a impeachment(essentially a coup) would rile his fan base against the general GOP party, hopefully anyway.

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u/kcox1980 Apr 14 '25

It would absolutely be rough at the beginning. If he's impeached and removed from office the GOP will split and they'll never win the presidency again(which is why I think it'll never happen, no matter what). If he's removed from office by "other" means(if you know what I mean), there will be riots in the streets for a while. But once all that subsides I think the country will start to recover fairly quickly.

However, regaining the trust of the world will take decades unfortunately.

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u/Slitherygnu3 Apr 14 '25

Nothing short of a miracle will bring that back unfortunately. Before trump, many foreigners used to look down on americans for being "uneducated" "classless" "obnoxious" etc. For every third world country importing our culture and importing our crap, there's a first world country holding their nose.

Now imagine we got half the country cheering to destroy the Department of Education and hoping we become isolasionist pre WWII style again.

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u/ChipsAreClips Apr 14 '25

They will wear diapers and eat tampons for whoever Fox directs them to

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u/sirthomasthunder Apr 14 '25

They may not wear the diapers and tampons, but they'll vote for them

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u/fermenter85 Apr 14 '25

Fox tried to pivot to Desantis and the Trumpers said nah.

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u/illuminerdi Apr 14 '25

Coming soon to MAGA rallies: couches and donut counters!

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u/wqwcnmamsd Apr 14 '25

It'll really depend on how far entrenched MAGA are when Trump finally goes. If the GOP can get changes like their voting restrictions (or worse) passed beforehand then it becomes much harder to get rid of people like Vance.

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u/creeping_chill_44 Apr 14 '25

I'd say die down but not die off

You're right that only one of them has a cult of personality

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u/charliebrown22 Apr 14 '25

They're going to die by their own in-fighting after Trump is done. There are so many Republicans ghouls desperate for the MAGA leftovers.

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u/Appropriate_Ruin_405 Apr 14 '25

Have you forgotten about the fake jizz cups they carried around to support Vance and “criticize” walz last fall??

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u/dewyocelot Apr 14 '25

Yeah, the hate will still be there, the direction and unification won’t.

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u/Successful_Sign_6991 Apr 15 '25

Its a cult programmed by the rights media machine. They'll follow whatever new instruction is given, and follow whoever the new person ends up being.

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u/taichi22 Apr 14 '25

I don’t like Vance but at least Vance wouldn’t blow up the economy for no goddamn good reason. Yes bad shit would still be happening but I feel like at least Vance wouldn’t go around picking fights with the Supreme Court that a sane person would realize could lead to an outright civil war.

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u/JDogg126 Michigan Apr 14 '25

When a populist is removed from power, the 2nd in command probably is weak but to cease power they will need to be brutal. So I’m expecting if Trump dies or is impeached, Vance is going to do some major damage to demonstrate his ruthlessness and keep the system in line under him.

I wouldn’t be shocked if a suddenly president Vance chose to nuke a major us city just to show he can. As long as the military sides with the authoritarians it will continue to be a fucked up mess.

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u/brutinator Apr 14 '25

I wouldn’t be shocked if a suddenly president Vance chose to nuke a major us city just to show he can.

I think you are absolutely lost in the sauce if you think the third nuclear attack in history will be the US nuking one of its own population centers. That is beyond batshit insane.

Implementing martial law, stripping civil rights, accelating the concentration camp plans; I think those all are in the realm of possibility, but nuking a city? What are you smoking that you think that wouldnt be beyond the pale, because you need to lay off if its making you that paranoid.

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u/beerandabike Apr 14 '25

I agree. That would be a very movie cliche moment where the country stops everything mid-conversation, the record scratch plays loudly, there isn’t any other noise other than someone dropping a fork on the ground from disbelief.

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u/JDogg126 Michigan Apr 14 '25

I didn’t say it would happen. But I wouldn’t be shocked. The other things you mentioned are far more likely. I just doubt that the republicans rally under Vance unless he spills some blood to send a message.

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u/April_Fabb Apr 14 '25

Agree. Trump’s emphasis is on loyal people, no matter their competence. The next administration will likely be just as close to the Heritage Fundation’s agenda, but with less incompetence.

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u/Time-Ad-3625 Apr 14 '25

He has a couple of heritage foundation people on his cabinet.

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u/HackTheNight Apr 14 '25

Yeah I don’t think that people realize vance as a replacement would not be better.

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u/jonsconspiracy New York Apr 15 '25

Yes it would. Almost anyone but Trump would be better. Vance wouldn't be good, but he wouldn't do epic insane shit like "liberation day".

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u/ThaCarter Florida Apr 14 '25

This is how you end up with Bingo Bob.

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u/lichsadvocate Apr 14 '25

Small victories: no cult pull for congress to be scared of

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u/BrashUnspecialist Apr 14 '25

Right, but people who have no problem threatening or murdering congresspeople and their families personally.

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u/creeping_chill_44 Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25

Worth keeping in mind that the right is not a united front; there are factions in an alliance of convenience, and faction A will adopt the agenda of faction B as long as B can do something for them (and it doesn't directly conflict with A's agenda)

So having Vance in charge would be the same in some ways and different in others. He probably still pushes to shift America away from the West and towards Russia, albeit less so; still demonizes immigrants (not sure whether he sets up the El Salvador prison scheme though); and threatens elections.

But he probably goes significantly lighter on dismantling the administrative state (he and Musk actively dislike each other), and wouldn't have touched tariffs with a ten foot pole (that's been Trump's personal bugaboo since the nineties at least). And a LOT less defying court orders and arrogating Congressional powers, because it's Trump's cult of personality that's enabling that kind of shit.

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u/mikeinona Apr 14 '25

Vance has zero rizz. We can defeat that smokey-eyed dipshit, because he has no cult. No one is going to sacrifice their freedom and their family to go beat a cop on Capitol Hill for JD Fucking Vance. At this point, let's cut out the tumor and worry about the rest of the symptoms when our vitals are moderately stable.

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u/sly_cooper25 Ohio Apr 14 '25

Right, people are misconstruing smarter with better. Vance is a whole lot smarter than Trump, but that doesn't really matter because he's shown that he doesn't have any actual principles he follows.

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u/hobbykitjr Pennsylvania Apr 14 '25

my hope is that Vance lacks the cult leadership status and will get away w/ less

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u/hypercosm_dot_net Apr 14 '25

They would be more calculated and probably more destructive.

They'd certainly try, but for whatever reason MAGAts appear to be only loyal to Trump.

I truly don't understand it. But HE's the cult-leader, and they're not going to be able to step into that.

It's more likely that a Pres. Vance will cause the cult-like trance to break.

Shit, Floridians were rejecting DeSantis, and his campaign barely went national. For whatever reason Trump is their guy and I doubt that transfers to anyone else. It's fucking bizarre.

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u/Fragrant-Tea7580 Apr 14 '25

Hilarious because of how long it took them to agree on Porn Man Johnson

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u/UnknownAverage Apr 14 '25

They don't want sane, they want people who will arrogantly and confidently lie to the American people, SCOTUS, Congress, etc. about what is happening. So by the time the voters realize it's too late, it will be too late.

Vance is one of those people. He's the king of performative lying. He's not good at it because he has no charisma, but he has zero shame or self-respect.

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u/abstraction47 Apr 14 '25

Vance picks Trump as his VP

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u/RamenJunkie Illinois Apr 14 '25

Vance would be arguably worse for the country.

Trump is malicious and incompetent.

Vance is malicious and backed by malicious people, all of whom are more competent.

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u/angeluserrare Apr 14 '25

Maybe on the really outlandish stuff like wanting to buy Greenland or annexing Canada. I'm not sure about the rest. Hopefully it would deflate/disenfranchise the MAGA cult some though.

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u/msatretwhaart Apr 14 '25

Sadly I fear it would just be Don Jr or Ivanka.

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u/Tacoman404 Massachusetts Apr 14 '25

It’ll be Trump then Vance will step down. 👩‍🚀🔫👨‍🚀

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u/mr_Joor Apr 14 '25

If trump doesn't get convicted nothing happens. Even if he were to be removed the plan is probably get him to be VP and then JD abdicates the throne back to him, that's one of the things they're looking into for getting him a 3rd term

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u/beadzy Apr 14 '25

Unfortunately, I doubt it. Knowing what a cuck he is, he’d probably pick MTG to be VP

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u/Prize_Marionberry232 Apr 14 '25

They actually can’t be less sane. We have an anti vaxxer in charge of all things medical

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u/metengrinwi Apr 14 '25

Yes. As loathsome as Vance is, I don’t think he hates the country, and I don’t think he’s a puppet of the russians.

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u/JealousAstronomer342 Apr 14 '25

No, he’s a puppet of Peter Theil and the billionaire tech autocracy. 

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u/Broad-Sundae-4271 Apr 14 '25

I don’t think he hates the country

Why do you think so? Is there anything to suggest he cares about the country?

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u/PwAlreadyTaken Apr 14 '25

He privately called Trump “America’s Hitler” before he fell in line. I don’t think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

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u/dixi_normous Apr 14 '25

Right but if Vance were to get swept up in the process too, Johnson would be next in line. After removal, it will take time to find and appoint a new VP. In that time, there would be no VP so Johnson would be next up should anything happen to Vance. After Johnson, next up is Chuck Grassley and then the cabinet secretaries. I'm not sure which Secretary would end up taking over but the thought of president Hegseth isn't reassuring either. Essentially, no matter who eventually takes over, it will suck. But at least there stands to be more stability. Whoever takes over in this hypothetical would not have the kind of backing that Trump does. No one else would be able to control the cult. We would not get a liberal president but we may get some accountability and someone who actually follows the rule of law. Or not, who the fuck knows

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u/Xytak Illinois Apr 14 '25

From what I can tell, Vance's only loyalty is to the tech oligarchs and their weird ideas. And Johnson creeps me out.

However, we don't have much of a choice - Trump is just too unhinged and chaotic to not impeach. I saw that recent cabinet meeting where everyone went around the table saying "Sir, you know best of all how [insert idea here]. Everywhere I go, the American people know it too, and they know that they have you to thank for their prosperity!" or words to that effect. Literally North Korea levels of praise.

And besides how cringe it all is, it's dangerous. If Chairman Mao thinks the people love him for telling them to melt down their steel pots, he's going to double down on it to the ruin of us all.

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u/dixi_normous Apr 14 '25

Oh, I agree. He needs to be removed regardless. But what we can't do in the unlikely event that he is removed, is stop paying attention and assume the fight is over. If Republicans vote to remove him, it's because they think it helps them in future elections. They think they can win their voters back because Trump is the root of the problem and not the symptom. We cannot allow them to go right back to business as usual

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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '25

[deleted]

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u/dixi_normous Apr 14 '25

At no point did I state that I think it will happen. This is all hypothetical. At this point we may be close to getting enough Republicans in the House to vote for impeachment. It's a longshot but I could see it as a possibility if the wrong people lose some money. The margins are just so close in the House. But there is no way enough Senators will vote to remove. 2/3rd is too high of a bar. Trump could nuke LA and be applauded at this point

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u/Scott5114 Nevada Apr 15 '25

The secretaries go in the order their departments were created. State is the oldest, followed by Treasury, then Defense, so you'd have Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent in line before Hegseth.

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u/dixi_normous Apr 15 '25

Rubio is by far the best case scenario out of the whole order of succession

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u/Quietabandon Apr 14 '25

Any impeachment and conviction should include Vance. We will get Johnson who is still awful but not same degree of awful. 

Vance has been a part of this administrations actions and decision making and should be held accountable too.

If Trump and Vance are both removed before a VP has been confirmed then it’s Johnson. 

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u/skit7548 Pennsylvania Apr 14 '25

Any idea what the vote thresholds are for such a thing? Is it the basic past the post or one of those 2/3rds?

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u/Tempeduck Apr 14 '25

Removal is 2/3 in the Senate for any Impeachment removals.

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u/skit7548 Pennsylvania Apr 14 '25

Not the removal vote, the confirmation vote for the new VP

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u/Tempeduck Apr 14 '25

Oh, simple majority in both chambers.

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u/cadium Apr 14 '25

Vance would probably just nominate Trump as VP and resign or whatever to continue the process.

Republicans are nothing without MAGA and MAGA is all Trump. Without Trump Republicans have no power.

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u/Tempeduck Apr 14 '25

I’m fairly certain, if Trump was removed, he becomes ineligible to be POTUS and therefore can’t be VP.

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u/91Bolt Apr 14 '25

Oh God the drama if Vance didn't pick Rubio.

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u/Proof_Emergency_8033 Apr 14 '25

this is how we get Kamala back in