Trump’s Strongest Allies In Congress Don’t Care How History Will Remember Them

With President Donald Trump headed for a partisan impeachment in the House and a largely automatic acquittal in the Senate, liberals like to console themselves that history will be unkind to Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress ― that the Republican members turning a blind eye or offering bad-faith excuses for the president will rightfully be recorded as enemies of truth.

But if Trump’s biggest fans in Congress are concerned about their place in history, they’re not showing it.

“I don’t care how I’m remembered,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stated. “I care that the American people elected this guy president, he’s doing a great job, and [the Democrats] have zero facts on their side to remove this guy from the office.”

Jordan said he was worried about Democrats never accepting the 2016 election outcome, as well as the “arrogance” of people like Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan, who testified before the Judiciary Committee last week that Trump should be impeached.

“The arrogance that lady had for hillbillies like Jim Jordan from Ohio, or Mark Meadows from the mountains of North Carolina, or anyone across the heartland who voted for this president,” said Jordan, a seven-term congressman, “the disdain that she had for us, you know, regular folk.”

And if you think Jordan insisting he doesn’t care is just some defense mechanism because he knows it will turn out badly, Jordan will tell you that actually, he hasn’t given any of that “a second’s thought.”

“The first time that even entered my mind was 20 seconds ago when you asked me,” he said.

Meadows also reported that he doesn’t worry about his place in history.

“Most of the historical commentary will be about the process more than the individuals,” Meadows said.

And he claimed that history hadn’t really remembered specific members of Congress in past impeachment cases. “If you can find one member of Congress who can name more than 10 people who voted one way or another, I’ll treat you to a steak dinner,” he said.

Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, was similarly untroubled.

“History writes itself,” Collins said, adding that he was only concerned with doing what feels right.

“The person who decides what history is gonna say about him is a fool,” he said.

It makes sense that Republicans aren’t thinking about their place in yet-to-be-written textbooks; defending Trump on the Ukraine scandal almost requires a blithe ignorance of history’s judgment.

It’s not that the public doesn’t know the facts, or that there are legitimate defenses of Trump. The president clearly sought to use his office to pressure a foreign country to announce an investigation into one of his chief political rivals. And he was willing to withhold roughly $400 million in congressionally appropriated security aid to accomplish his goals.

In a rational world ― one unpoisoned by partisan excuses and conspiracies ― this impeachment would be unanimous. The facts are so damning, so overwhelming; and yet not a single House Republican cares.

Not a single Republican will stand up for the rights of Congress to subpoena White House officials and have them answer questions. Not a single Republican in the House will hold the president accountable.

In a rational world ― one unpoisoned by partisan excuses and conspiracies ― this impeachment would be unanimous.

And while history should remember Trump’s strongest allies ― the ones who unflinchingly and reflexively defend the president no matter the situation ― history ought to also remember the Republicans who could have broken from the president, the Republicans who were unnatural allies, the Brian Fitzpatricks and Will Hurds and Francis Rooneys.