Former President Donald Trump’s focus appears to be more on erasing his own impeachments than on pushing for the impeachment of President Biden. According to advisers, Trump isn’t the driving force behind the Biden impeachment inquiry in Congress, and he has been relatively muted about the actions of House GOP leaders.
Despite leading the Republican polling for the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has primarily directed his energy toward making exaggerated or unverified allegations against Biden. These allegations have raised questions about Biden’s family finances, which House Republicans are investigating as part of their impeachment inquiry. However, Trump has not been as vocal about advocating for Biden’s impeachment, indicating the contentious nature of the House GOP’s strategy, even within the Republican Party.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Trump stated, “That’s up to them if they want to do impeachment or impeachment inquiry. I have no idea whether they will or not, we do have a lot of other things. But it’s quite important, and they did it to me.”
Trump has been more preoccupied with his own impeachments, first for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden and then for inciting the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He has reportedly expressed his desire to Speaker Kevin McCarthy that his own impeachments be formally annulled, though no commitments have been made.
Trump, seeking a return to the White House as a twice-impeached former president facing criminal charges in four cases, has focused on what he would do to seek retribution against his political opponents if he regains power. He has vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Biden and has privately expressed frustration over the lack of criminal charges against Biden and his son, Hunter.
As House Republicans pursue their impeachment inquiry, it is clear that the effort is more driven by members of Congress than by Trump himself. Trump’s relative quiet on the issue contrasts with the White House’s attempts to portray House Republicans as acting on his behalf.
Despite not explicitly demanding Biden’s impeachment, Trump has framed it as payback for his own impeachments. He has even suggested that Republicans could respond to his 91 criminal charges by fabricating indictments against Democrats.
Trump has intensified his accusations against Biden in recent months, drawing on right-wing media reports and House Republicans’ investigations into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. He has made unfounded claims about Joe Biden taking foreign bribes and suggested that these payments influence the president’s actions.
While there is no concrete evidence to support these claims, surveys suggest that many Americans harbor suspicions about Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s business dealings. A recent CNN poll showed that 61 percent of Americans believe Joe Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings with Ukraine and China while he was vice president.
Trump, who is a presidential candidate, is not directly involved in running the House of Representatives or its impeachment inquiries. While he has been in touch with some House Republicans who support impeachment, he has not actively lobbied lawmakers on this issue.
In summary, Trump’s current priorities seem to revolve more around his own legal challenges and political ambitions than on actively driving the impeachment of President Biden.