‘I’ll get impeached’: Donald Trump begs Republicans as his antics push him toward an embarrassing reality

President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to Republican lawmakers this week, predicting he will face a third impeachment if the GOP fails to hold Congress in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. This is a huge political gamble. It shows just how high the stakes are for the administration heading into November.

Speaking at a House Republican policy retreat at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, the president didn’t mince words about the consequences of losing control of the legislative branch. He made it clear that a Democratic majority would immediately restart efforts to remove him from office, per NBC.

The president delivered a direct plea to the gathered representatives. “You got to win the midterms, because if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be — I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump told the lawmakers. “I’ll get impeached.”

Trump knows he’s gone too far, and has to warn his cronies

This isn’t just hyperbole from the president. Historically, midterm elections often favor the party that doesn’t hold the presidency. The last time Democrats surged into the majority in 2018, winning 235 seats in the House, it absolutely paved the way for the two previous impeachment efforts. If history is any guide, a similar blue surge this year could quickly turn the president’s prediction into reality.

You have to remember, President Trump is the only president in history to have been impeached twice by the House of Representatives. The first time was in 2019, focused on accusations that he withheld military aid to Ukraine while trying to pressure them to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden. Then he was impeached again in 2021 for his actions surrounding the January 6 attack on the Capitol, where he was accused of trying to overturn his election loss.

Though the Senate didn’t reach the necessary two-thirds supermajority to convict him either time. The president has consistently maintained his innocence and called the moves politically motivated attacks.

Democrats, however, have already signaled they are ready to act if they regain power. Following the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro, Congresswoman Maxine Waters suggested the president’s extreme actions could warrant another impeachment inquiry.

She stated that even if Republicans refuse to act, Democrats “cannot remain silent or passive in the face of actions this extreme from this Administration.” The president’s speech, warning of a potential three-peat impeachment, came exactly on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 attack. This date carries extra weight because the president made a highly controversial move on the first day of his second term when he issued a blanket pardon for the hundreds of people involved in the riot.

That pardon included individuals accused or convicted of violent crimes. That action certainly didn’t help ease tensions with the opposition party and provided Democrats with significant new motivation.

Right now, the numbers aren’t looking great for the GOP. Polling conducted in October showed that 50% of registered voters actually prefer that Democrats control Congress, while only 42% prefer Republican control. That’s a significant difference that falls outside the margin of error. Voters are currently most worried about the economy, and they generally feel the country is heading in the wrong direction. That feeling usually fuels opposition victories.

Interestingly, Republican operatives have reportedly decided to flip the script entirely. They plan to use the very threat of a third Trump impeachment as a way to increase voter turnout in the midterms, even though the president isn’t on the ballot.