“Opponents of trump play with fire”: how the hearing of the impeachment case of the US president affects his popularity

After two public hearings in the House of Representatives of the US Congress on the impeachment case of Donald Trump, the president’s rating rose by several points. This is evidenced by surveys conducted by the sociological service Rasmussen Reports.

During the first hearings on Wednesday, November 13, 46% of respondents approved the activities of the head of state. After the second hearing on November 15, this figure grew by four percentage points: now 50% of respondents approve of Trump.

Donald Trump posted the results of the survey on his Twitter, accompanying them with a brief remark: “Thank you.”

THANK YOU! # MAGA # KAGhttps: //t.co/Pcq7IbehVp

At a public hearing in the House of Representatives, one of the key prosecution witnesses, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Jovanovic, spoke. She served as head of the diplomatic mission from August 2016 to May 2019 and was fired after several noisy scandals this spring.

The then Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said that Jovanovic gave him a list of Ukrainian officials whom the country's authorities do not have the right to prosecute. In addition, according to The Hill, Republican Senator Pete Sessions wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a letter stating that Jovanovic in private conversations gave unflattering characteristics of the White House administration.

The hearing began with an opening speech by the head of the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives, Adam Schiff. He stated that Jovanovic was allegedly the victim of a campaign to denigrate her name, which was organized by Lutsenko and Trump’s lawyer Rudolf Giuliani. The purpose of this campaign, the head of the committee claims, was to remove her from her post, as it prevented the creation of an unofficial channel of communication with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

Allegedly, using this channel, the US president tried to get the Ukrainian leader to investigate Burisma. Her board of directors included Hunter Biden, the son of a possible Trump rival in the 2020 election, Joe Biden. The current US administration sees Hunter Biden’s work in this post as a corruption component. Opponents of the head of state believe that he sought to use his official position to achieve personal political goals, which is the basis for his removal from power.

Experts believe that the Rasmussen poll reflects an objective situation: respondents expressed their confidence in Trump, since his opponents at a hearing on Friday failed to prove that the accusations against the president are correct. According to the ex-ambassador, it does not follow that the American president forced Zelensky to conduct an investigation against Burisma, analysts say.

Since in a previously published transcript of the conversations between the two leaders, Trump does not speak with his colleague in an ultimatum, commanding tone, Jovanovic tried to prove that even the request of the American leader in Kiev could not be ignored.

“For Ukraine, relations with the USA are the most important relations. I believe that President Zelensky - and any other president (Ukraine - approx. RT) - would do everything he could to meet such a request for a favor. I’m not saying that they would definitely agree, I’m saying that they would try to meet their needs and evaluate their capabilities, ”she said.

• Mary Jovanovic testifies in US Congress
• Reuters
• © Jim Bourg

In response to a clarifying question, is it possible to say that Zelensky “would have done almost everything in his power to please the US president,” Jovanovic said the following:

“I am sure that it is limited by a certain framework. As I understand it, the government of Ukraine has discussed this many times. But yes, maintaining relations with us is important both for security reasons and in terms of political interests. ”

Thus, Jovanovic did not clearly and unequivocally confirm that Trump was trying to put pressure on Zelensky, states political analyst and American Dmitry Drobnitsky.

“In fact, the hearings were reduced by the Democrats to the story of how Trump insulted and humiliated this noble woman who had put her whole life in the service of the State Department,” he said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Trump supporters tried to discredit her with their questions, and they succeeded, says Drobnitsky.

“The Republicans constantly tried to find out from her how it happened that she, the US ambassador in Kiev, knowing that the Ukrainian elite is corrupt, for some reason did not know anything about Biden’s connections with this elite, in particular that his son worked for Ukrainian company Burisma, ”says the expert.

Vladimir Vasiliev, the chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, attributes her emotionality to the merits of Jovanovic’s speech at the hearing.

“In this regard, she could reach out to American public opinion, which could believe that Trump and his administration are behaving inappropriately towards the staff of the State Department,” he told RT.

However, the testimony of the ex-ambassador has a very significant flaw that overlaps their merits, the analyst said.

“Jovanovic was fired in May. A telephone conversation with Trump Zelensky, in which the American president allegedly exerted pressure on the Ukrainian leader, took place on July 25. In her testimony, Jovanovic was supposed to show that she was aware of the events that preceded this call. But she could not do this, ”said Vasiliev.

Digging a hole for yourself

The investigation against Trump, which the Democrats started, is so far more likely to hit them themselves than the US president, experts say.

“For Americans, the impeachment procedure itself is a rather unpleasant thing. They do not like it when they try to remove the legally elected president from power. Americans like that they live in a presidential republic. They elected the president and congress and believe that everyone should do their own thing, ”says Drobnitsky.

• Supporters of US President Donald Trump during a rally outside the Capitol Building in Washington
• Reuters
• © Carlos Jasso

In his opinion, for the Americans to approve the impeachment, the president should be opposed by his own party, and not just its opponents.

“To do this, you need to convincingly prove: yes, the head of state did something outrageous that you can’t stand it in any way. And now impeachment looks exclusively like an undertaking of the Democrats who are trying to invent grounds to deprive Trump of power. Naturally, all this only leads to an increase in the president’s popularity, ”says Drobnitsky.

However, Vasiliev believes that talking about Trump's complete victory over his opponents is at least premature. He recalls that the hearings will last at least a few more weeks. The very fact that charges were brought against the president gives the Democrats a certain head start.

“What will happen next is difficult to say. It is clear that Trump and his opponents will try to attract public opinion to their side. And it is also clear that public hearings on the impeachment case can play against the Democrats. Trump will accuse his opponents of trying to keep accounts with him and approaching a dangerous line beyond which the destruction of statehood begins. The small handicap that the Democrats received can quickly dissolve. In general, Trump’s opponents play with fire, ”concluded Vasiliev.