A new survey by “research and message refinement consultancy” Engagious reveals that the select group of Pennsylvania voters they’ve targeted — literal swing voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 — views the Biden impeachment inquiry greenlit by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as GOP “retaliation” for the impeachment of Trump while he was President.
These voters — distinguished by having demonstrated a willingness to change their minds and switch sides based on evidence that compels a reaction — believe the case against the President isn’t based on merit, but on payback.
The small focus group — just 11 participants — doesn’t constitute a poll from which larger trends can be reliably sourced and extrapolated. It’s more of an anecdotal take. Axios puts some meat on its bones by reporting a few visceral reactions from the group, one of which characterized the impeachment inquiry as a “waste of time,” while another participant said, “It just feels like it’s so out of left field, it’s distracting.”
While the focus group provides insight into the ambivalence these voters feel toward both leading presidential candidates, its big reveal about political payback — that voters see the McCarthy move as “retaliation” — has already been confirmed by Trump himself on camera in his recent interview with Megyn Kelly.
Acknowledging that payback is the MAGA reasoning behind the Biden impeachment push, Trump told Kelly: “I think had they not done it to me … perhaps you wouldn’t have it being done to them.”
He also predicted more payback would be forthcoming. “And this is going to happen with indictments, too,” said the 4-times indicted former President.
Trump, given his power over his party, likely more than just “thinks” the Biden impeachment inquiry is retribution. The former President called for impeachment specifically in a recent post aimed at GOP congressional members, writing: “These lowlifes Impeached me TWICE (I WON!), and Indicted me FOUR TIMES – For NOTHING! Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION. THEY DID IT TO US!”
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