Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Democrat Who May Become a Republican Because He Opposes Impeachment Has Privately Railed Against Trump

Democrat Who May Become a Republican Because He Opposes Impeachment Has Privately Railed Against Trump
Mark Wilson/Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

In the 2018 election, several traditionally red districts went blue.

Now, some of those freshman Democratic members of the House of Representatives find themselves evaluating country over their reelection chances.


Among them is New Jersey Democrat Jeff Van Drew. Van Drew defeated his rookie Republican challenger in 2018 after the GOP incumbent Frank LoBiondo announced he would retire and not seek a 13th term.

Van Drew is one of the few Democrats who opposes impeaching President Donald Trump. Not because they do not believe he committed impeachable acts, but rather because the believe impeaching Trump will bolster support for him and lead to his reelection in 2020.

The majority of voters in the United States support impeachment, but for some of these freshman Democrats serving in traditionally red districts, the numbers may not match the national sentiment.

For some, the answer may be to vote against impeachment to appease their constituents. But for Van Drew, the answer could be leaving the Democratic Party and joining the GOP.

But according to colleagues of Van Drew, the New Jersey legislator is no fan of Donald Trump. While he publicly railed against the impeachment process as "unfair," "unfounded" and "damaging to the country" he sang a different tune in private.

Van Drew reportedly called President Trump stupid, crazy and mentally unstable, but his opposition to impeachment centered on the belief an impeached Trump would win in 2020 and Van Drew and other newly elected Democrats in flipped seats would lose.

A Democratic colleague stated:

"[Van Drew] was almost obsessively anti-Trump. His only justification, and this was adamant, was that he thinks that [impeachment] will help Trump win."

So how does someone so opposed to Trump justify joining the GOP?

It would seem even Van Drew is struggling with that part of his plan to get reelected in 2020. By Tuesday afternoon he was walking back his earlier announcement that he would leave the DNC and join the GOP.

Van Drew told the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"[I am] reevaluating my life and my thoughts."

Van Drew reiterated he plans to run for reelection and win in 2020, but how far he would go to attain that goal is no longer set in stone. But it appears to have been enough to get an endorsement out of the White House.

The New York Times reported Van Drew visited the White House over the weekend seeking Trump's blessing.

Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted:

"Congressman Jeff Van Drew is very popular in our great and very united Republican Party. It was a tribute to him that he was able to win his heavily Republican district as a Democrat. People like that are not easily replaceable!"

But the endorsement, posted on a day full of formulaic Trump endorsements, did not exactly resonate with the public.







Apparently Van Drew's decision did not resonate with his staff either.

And people wondered if the endorsement of how great Van Drew is will remain if he ultimately decides to remain a Democrat.

Van Drew did not give a timeline for when he would make his decision. But even if he stays with the Democratic Party, will the DNC stay with Van Drew?

A defeat in the primary for Van Drew's seat from a Democratic or Republican challenger is a possibility.

Have distinct opinions on the impeachment? This shirt is available here.

Amazon

More from News/2024-election

Katy Perry
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Katy Perry

Katy Perry Reacts After AI Image of Her At The Met Gala Fools The Internet Once Again

Katy Perry didn’t attend the 2025 Met Gala, but that didn’t stop a fake photo of her from going viral—again.

An AI-generated image showed the pop star in a dramatic gown, and a parody account on X claimed she was wearing a new kind of fabric called “Lustratex,” made by Mugler. They even posted a fake sketch of the dress and said Vogue had reported on it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Batya Ungar-Sargon; Abby Phillip
CNN

MAGA CNN Pundit Gets Epic Fact-Check After Making Bonkers Claim About American Girl Dolls

On Monday’s CNN NewsNight, MAGA messenger Batya Ungar-Sargon made a comment that's been called out-of-touch, classist, and completely inaccurate.

The roundtable style program was discussing the Trump administration's tariffs. On April 30, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump said himself that his tariffs meant children will probably have fewer toys.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Randy Rainbow and Pete Hegseth from "Incompetent" parody
@RandyRainbow/X

Randy Rainbow Hilariously Skewers Trump's 'Incompetent' Cabinet In 'Cinderella'-Inspired Parody Video

Political satirist and YouTube star Randy Rainbow is at it again, this time channeling the fairy godmother from Cinderella in a biting new musical parody video that mocks President Donald Trump's "incompetent" Cabinet officials.

Rainbow opens his latest video not with a mock interview of Trump, as is his usual style, but with Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and immediately presses Hegseth about his reported use of multiple Signal group chats to discuss sensitive military matters:

Keep ReadingShow less
Elizabeth Warren; Linda McMahon
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Elizabeth Warren Rips Education Secretary's Mind-Numbing Video For 'Teacher Appreciation Week'

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Education Secretary Linda McMahon for paying tribute to educators during "Teacher Appreciation Week," noting the hypocrisy of McMahon's actions as she honors teachers on one hand and works to dismantle the Department of Education on the other.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order empowering McMahon “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hollywood sign
Venti Views on Unsplash

People Break Down The Nicest Celebrities They've Ever Met

A lot of attention is paid to fan interactions with celebrities that don't go well.

But there are plenty of times when everyone approached the situation with kindness and the experience was positive for both parties.

Keep ReadingShow less