Donald Trump just got hit with some bad news

| 7:00 pm EST January 23, 2020
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We’re now on Day Three of Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, and some things are becoming very clear. First, Adam Schiff and the House impeachment managers are putting on a devastating prosecution that could help convince fence-sitters and low-information nonpartisan viewers of Trump’s guilt. Second, some Republican Senators just don’t care, and are going out of their way to thumb their noses at the impeachment process.

But even as these two competing narratives are playing out rather loudly, a much quieter third storyline may be the one that matters most. We’ve already seen a group of vulnerable Republican Senators force Mitch McConnell to change the trial rules, behind the scenes, in the twenty-four hour period between when he introduced them and when he held a vote on them. These GOP Senators, who worry that participating in a sham trial could end up costing them their own seats, are clearly nervous about where this is headed.

Will these holdout Republican Senators end up voting next week to call witnesses against Donald Trump? Only if they selfishly conclude that it’s what’s best for their own careers. Right now they’re quietly looking at the media coverage of the trial each day, and more importantly, the poll numbers about the trial. That’s why it’s such a big deal that various major polling outlets now say that between 68% and 80% of Americans want witnesses to be called during this trial.

Not only are those numbers exceedingly high, they’re growing. None of the Republican Senators are to be trusted. But some of them are facing strong odds of losing their reelection bids in 2020. Now they’re facing the reality that as many as 80% of voters are expecting witnesses to be called. Some of them will have to seriously think twice about whether it’s wise to be on the wrong side of that.

Even if the Senate Republicans acquit Donald Trump after having witnesses like John Bolton publicly testify against him, it’ll still be devastating for Trump. With poll numbers rapidly rising in favor of calling witnesses, and the already-nervous GOP holdout Senators surely getting even more nervous about a sham trial, this can only be seen as bad news for Trump.