Impeachment Rallies, Trump's Inane Letter & America's Military Personnel Disapprove of the President

Impeachment Rallies: Americans across the country gathered last night to show their support for Donald Trump's impeachment. While most of us were focused on last-minute Christmas shopping, demonstrators braved rain, snow and freezing temperatures in about 600 small towns and big cities to laud efforts by the House of Representatives to remove the President. And some of the demonstrators were quite creative.

CNN: "Demonstrators in Times Square lined up to stretch a sign for those above them to read. It quoted Article II Section 4 of the Constitution:

"The president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." In Saint Paul, Minnesota, a crowd gathered to carol but changed the words to the familiar "We wish you a merry Christmas." "We wish you would leave the White House, some time by New Year," they sang together."

Trump's Letter: A few hours earlier Tuesday, President Trump sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arguing against impeachment. It will be remembered by historians as a dishonest tirade, a stain on the republic. It's full of the lies, conspiracy theories and misleading statements the President has used to create a counter-narrative, an alternative universe, for his supporters. David Dale fact-checked the letter for CNN.

Dale, CNN: "Like much of his previous rhetoric about Ukraine and impeachment, much of the letter was false or misleading. Trump repeated multiple false claims that have been debunked on numerous occasions. He also delivered some new claims that were false, misleading or lacking in context."

The entire fact-check is here.

Poll of US Military Personnel: A new poll conducted for the "Military Times" found that President Trump is losing the support of America's service members, a group that has generally been aligned with Republicans since the Vietnam War. Overall, 50% have an unfavorable view of the President compared to 42% that support him. And, most shockingly, 45% have a "very unfavorable" opinion of Trump versus only 24% who have a "very favorable" view of him. The newspaper noted several things that might explain Trump's slide with military personnel over the last year.

Military Times: "In the time since the 2018 poll, Trump fired his popular former defense secretary, retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Mattis. Trump also ordered a controversial and sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, and became the subject of impeachment hearings in the House over the delay of military assistance funding to Ukraine."

"Also, in the days before the poll closed in December, Trump made the controversial decision to grant clemency to three warfighters accused of war crimes, a move that was opposed by many military leaders at the Pentagon."

#news #polling #Trump #impeachment

By: Don Lam & Curated Content