General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: And never forget that Manafort picked Pence to be V.P. which means Putin picked Pence to be V.P. [View all]Tommy_Carcetti
(43,181 posts)Which would be great, don't get me wrong.
But the idea is ridiculously far fetched that somehow we're going to see Trump and Pence simultaneously impeached and then jointly tried in the Senate and jointly removed from office, and that suddenly makes Nancy Pelosi president.
Love it.
It ain't gonna happen, though.
Trump is up to his eyeballs in the Trussia scandal.
Pence...well, he has his feet wet, but that's about it. He appears to have at the very least been cagey about his knowledge (or lack thereof) of Flynn's lobbying activities, and he has his brother who apparently has done some business with Russia, but there's nothing concrete that connects him to the nucleus of the scandal.
And even if those facts are enough to force a Pence resignation (and sadly, I'm doubtful on that), Trump would just nominate some other generic Republican who is palatable enough for confirmation and who would take over if Trump is removed from office or resigns (or suffers a KFC related event).
Even under the joint-impeachment fantasy, Trump and Pence would both be tried by a Senate that is still majority Republican. If the Mueller report is damning enough (which I think it will be) they might be willing to dispense with the unruly lunatic that is Trump due to the long-term damage that he might cause the party, but they're never going to entirely cede the White House to the Democrats.
It's not that big a deal because Pence is still tainted goods by virtue of having been Trump's Vice President and that would hinder his chances if he were to run in 2020.