Tom Steyer in Trump impeachment
On Principles & Values:
Trump officials should testify for court of public opinion
I'm the person who started The Need to Impeach movement. Over eight and a half million signed that petition. It's a question of right and wrong. If we want the people to understand what's going on, we need to have administration officials testify on
TV so we can judge. The court that counts here is the court of public opinion. If we want Republican senators to do the right thing, we need their constituents to see the truth, and tell them, "Get rid of this guy or we'll get rid of you."
Source: December Democratic primary debate on impeaching Trump
Dec 19, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Impeachment reflects the will of the American people
I started the Need to Impeach movement because I knew there was something desperately wrong at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That we did have the most corrupt president in the country, and that only the voice and the will of the American people would drag
Washington to see it as a matter of right and wrong, not of political expediency. Impeaching and removing this President is something the American people are demanding. They're the voice that counts and that's who I went to, the American p
Source: October Democratic Primary debate on impeaching Trump
Oct 15, 2019
On Corporations:
US government & Trump have been corrupted by corporate money
Steyer defended his recent push for impeachment of President Donald Trump, telling ABC News that "actual democracy," and more public visibility will boost support for Trump's removal. "What we've been pushing for in terms of the argument that this
president is the most corrupt in American history and is a danger to the country and the Constitution--that argument we have won," Steyer said. "The only way to actually push this the right way is actual democracy. Get it on TV, let the American people
see the facts and let them judge--that hasn't happened," he added."We have a broken government that has been corrupted by corporate money. We need to push the power back to the American people, to re-take the democracy and I've been doing that
successfully--from the outside--10 years." Steyer said. "The question is, if we're going to take back this democracy, is someone going to lead it who has successfully done it from the outside, or a bunch of people from Washington, D.C.?"
Source: John Verhovek on ABC News on impeaching Trump
Jul 14, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Republicans did not lose Congress for impeaching Clinton
House Democrats know that President Trump is unfit for office and that they hold the power to begin impeachment proceedings. Yet instead of acting on the merits of the situation, they appear consumed with whether or not they will suffer politically for
it.At the moment, House Democrats, led by Speaker Pelosi, insist that any action toward impeachment--however warranted or urgent--would be too costly politically. This calculation not only answers the wrong question; it's unsupported by the facts.
The politics of impeaching the president favors Democrats, and they should move forward with confidence.
There is simply no historical precedent for impeachment leading to serious political peril. Those trying to make this case point to President Bill
Clinton, asserting that voters punished the GOP for an impeachment they viewed as overreach. It's true that Republicans lost five seats in the House, but two years later, voters kept the Republican majorities intact and delivered them the White House.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, "Impeaching Trump," by Tom Steyer
May 13, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Nixon only lost support once impeachment hearings began
Just a little over 30% of Americans wanted President Richard Nixon impeached and removed when the House Judiciary Committee began its inquiry--a lower share of the electorate than those who support Trump's impeachment today.
But after uncovering evidence, hearing sworn testimony on live television, and giving the public a chance to judge Nixon's wrongdoing for themselves, support for his ouster soared to 57%.
The American people left the GOP with a simple choice: continue to protect Nixon or save their own political futures. They chose self-preservation and still lost 52 seats in the next election.
Nixon's downfall offers an important lesson: the impeachment process itself can sway public opinion and force a reckoning among the president's partisan defenders. The stage is set for such a shift today.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, "Impeaching Trump," by Tom Steyer
May 13, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Trump & GOP systematically break the law & democratic norms
President Trump and the Republican Party have created an atmosphere of political violence. If you look across the political scene, what you see is routine, systematic lawlessness, an attempt to break small-D democratic norms, in pursuit of victory at
all costs. And we see it in voter suppression. We see it in extreme gerrymandering. We see it in the violent political rhetoric, of course, that people have been alluding all morning.But, more than that, we see it in a president who has been breaking
the law systematically as a candidate, as a businessperson, and as a president.
There has been bad behavior on both sides--not that there's perfection on one side and absolute horror on the other. But we're seeing a much broader, systematic attempt
to disrespect the norms of democracy, to actually disrespect the laws of the United States, and an attack on the rule of law. And that creates an atmosphere where anything can bubble up and anything is bubbling up.
Source: CNN 2018 interviews on impeachment of Trump
Oct 28, 2018
On Principles & Values:
Majority of Americans want Trump impeached and removed
Q: You are one of the leaders nationally for impeachment. You have been running ads for a long time on TV. I don't hear Democratic leaders in Congress talking about impeachment, in fact, the opposite. If Democrats take the House, and do not ultimately
began impeachment proceedings against President Trump, what will you do you?STEYER: Almost 80% of registered Democrats want this president impeached and removed from office. If you ask Americans broadly, more people are in favor of that than aren't.
So it's not as if I'm representing some small part of the United States. I'm representing most Americans. So, in fact, what we have is a movement that is asking for a different America, which is one that recognizes the rule of law, gets rid of
corruption, and treats every American equitably & fairly. And so, if I hear from elected officials that it's not politically expedient, I ask only two questions. Are we telling the truth? Are we standing up for the American people and the Constitution?
Source: CNN 2018 interviews on impeachment of Trump
Oct 28, 2018
Page last updated: Dec 13, 2021