COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — President Trump was energized. “They’re saying, ‘We’ll impeach him!’” Mr. Trump practically bellowed into the microphone here last week, his voice brimming with incredulity and righteous outrage. “Besides that,” Mr. Trump then added slyly, “I have to go first, right?” The crowd laughed. Perhaps only in the Trump era would the prospect of being impeached become a punch line for the president of the United States. The impeachment drives against Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton tore at the nation’s fabric, but an effort to remove Mr. Trump could lead to an even more incendiary conflict, thanks to the advent of social media and Mr. Trump’s brand of blowtorch politics.

Source: New York Times October 13, 2018 18:22 UTC