Rep. Al Green (D-TX) is back to his political theatrics. This weekend, during one of the Democratic Party’s orchestrated anti-Trump protests, the Texas lawmaker revealed his intentions to file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump within the next 30 days. Green, who was recently censured for disrupting the president’s March 4 address to a joint session of Congress, directed a lot of his speech at the Donald himself, saying: “You don’t deserve the office you hold.”
Green portrays himself as a defender of democracy, yet he seems to have decided he can disregard the will of a majority of American voters by proclaiming the man they elected to lead the country as undeserving of his position. When Green and his fellow Democrats speak of democracy, that well-known line from the movie The Princess Bride springs to mind: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Another Weaponized Impeachment
The Texas representative was not specific about the “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” President Trump has supposedly committed. That hardly matters, though. Back in 2016 and in January of 2017, before Trump had even been sworn into office, several Democrats vowed to impeach him. No crime or transgression is needed, then. Trump’s opponents already showed that, for them, impeachment is not about accountability – it is a political weapon. Just as with the two impeachments of Trump during his first term, any reason will do.
“You can’t be entrusted with liberty and justice for all,” Green told the demonstrators in Washington, DC, regarding the current president. “You can’t be entrusted with government of the people by the people for the people. I’m coming for you.”
Green’s problem, of course, is that there is no chance of impeachment succeeding while Republicans control both the House and the Senate. And the congressman is aware of this. Still, he knows that his impeachment articles will hang over Trump’s head until the 2026 midterm elections.
When Rep. Green speaks, though, it is usually more about himself than anything or anyone else. One might wonder if he suffers from what is clinically known as hero syndrome or hero complex, defined as “a psychological phenomenon which causes a person to seek recognition for heroism.” Most victims of this very real disorder usually attempt what they see as heroic acts to gain the recognition they crave. Green seems to be under the impression that criticizing and obstructing Trump is a personal act of heroism.
At the DC rally, the Texan first rambled about why he carried a cane before drawing a bizarre comparison between today’s political divisions and the biblical confrontation between David and Goliath. “We need a Senate that will convict [Trump] this time,” he said, “and I want you to know, from my heart, from my heart, I understand that he is a Goliath. He is a Goliath. He has control of the generals in the military. He has control of the Justice Department. He has control of the Republican Party, but my friends, my friends, for every Goliath, there is a David.”
Choosing the Wrong Hill to Die On?
The turnout for these astroturf demonstrations probably didn’t cause concern among Republicans or in the Trump White House. The only sizable rallies materialized in deep blue cities – another indication that this isn’t some nationwide grassroots uprising against the 47th president. In New York City, which saw about 1.9 million residents turn out in November to vote for Kamala Harris, barely 10,000 took to the streets to protest the Trump agenda.
Staggering under the weight of a roundly rejected ideology and historically low approval ratings, are the Democrats really doing themselves any favors by threatening yet another impeachment? Polling shows that Trump’s policy decisions have largely been well received by a majority of Americans. Will those same people want to see Democrats, should they win control of the House in 2026, sabotage the Trump agenda and waste everyone’s time with impeachment proceedings?
If, by some astounding turn of events, Democrats were to win enough Senate seats to convict and remove President Trump, would they not be overturning the will of the people, as expressed at the ballot box? Will they not have become the threat to democracy they keep warning about? Nothing will likely drive Republican voters to the booths in 2026 more than a determination to ensure Democrats do not take the House majority required for impeachment.
There’s an even worse scenario for Trump’s opponents if they do manage to evict him from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue before his term is over. Would they not be setting up Vice President JD Vance to take Trump’s case to an exasperated public, thereby very likely securing the White House for Republicans in 2028?
