The Founding Fathers chose a different political system than that of the country from which the United States seceded — a “Republic,” as Benjamin Franklin put it, versus a parliamentary system as found in Great Britain. That meant that the U.S. would have a president rather than a prime minister.
The Fathers also poo-poohed the British system of removing a leader through a vote of no confidence — 50 percent plus one voting “go away” — in favor of impeachment, requiring a two-thirds vote. In other words, to rid of the country of a leader the populace no longer respects, a simple majority of elected officials works in England, while here it takes a two-thirds vote.
Our current leader, President Donald John Trump, can probably survive a two-thirds vote until the end of his term in 2029, but could he survive 50-plus-one, as in a vote of no confidence? The answer is that his tenure might look pretty short-term had the Founders adopted a vote of no confidence instead of impeachment.
Sir Donald is losing lots of votes in the Senate, especially as he has lobbied against sitting Senators who will remain in office until next January after losing their primary elections. They feel no particular allegiance to him now that he has overseen their political demise. On top of that, he is playing King to Peasants in the way he frames his goals.
Just recently, Trump has offered some mouth-watering responses to questions, such as, “I’m president and you’re not,” when asked to justify his politics. In the height of the war when the economy was tanking with rising prices, he told the nation, “I love inflation.” He also said he “did not care about the midterms” when asked about the effects of the war on the upcoming elections.
Does Trump sound out of touch? I’d bet that, outside of his loyial MAGA base, the nation would resoundingly reply, “Yes.”
