Just under half of Democrats say they would be pleased if an overnight coup removed President Trump from office and instituted military control, according to a new survey.
Of 683 Democratic voters asked for their perspectives if a group of U.S. military leaders removed the president from power and assumed control overnight to “safeguard the Constitution,” 43% expressed “very positive” opinions, and 16% would feel “somewhat positive,” according to a new poll from Liberal Currents and the Center for Strategic Politics.
Those who held a negative view made up 28%.
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Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, said Democratic leaders have dismissed critics of proposals such as court-packing as merely “nostalgic” for constitutional norms and that the same standard, applied consistently, is what leaves “many of us shocked at the support for a military coup.”
Support, however, drops off sharply as the removal method gets more violent or extralegal.
Democrats’ sour mood toward the president has seemingly only grown the longer he is in office, prompting lawmakers to float articles of impeachment.
If the party successfully regains a majority in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and top Democrats have stated they have not ruled impeachment in or out.
When asked whether Mr. Trump could be impeached and convicted by both houses of Congress and removed from office overnight, 87% responded positively.
Only 7% were not fond of the idea.
Those who were positive about the prospect of a majority of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet declaring him unfit and removing him from office made up 84%, compared to 7% who gave negative responses.
Democratic respondents who would be satisfied if they woke up and saw headlines that Mr. Trump was assassinated while speaking at a rally totalled 31%. On the other hand, 43% would not be.
If his death came peacefully, such as dying in his sleep overnight, 56% said they would feel positive about it, while 16% felt negative.
Lawful removal draws overwhelming approval, a coup draws a bare-ish majority, and outright assassination draws a plurality negative.
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