Democrats Admit Their No. 1 Priority Is Political Revenge

Democrats have made “affordability” and economic concerns the central theme of their midterm campaign messaging. But their actions betray that they don’t actually have a plan to bring down the cost of anything – and instead are only fixated on political revenge if they retake the majority.

This reality was made abundantly clear last week when Rep. Al Green (D-TX) forced yet another impeachment vote against President Donald Trump. Although the House ultimately tabled the resolution 232-147, only 18 Democrats joined Republicans to block the resolution.

But perhaps the most telling votes came from the 47 Democrats, including the entire House Democrat leadership, who voted “present.” In doing so, they avoided a direct endorsement of the impeachment resolution while also stopping short of going on the record against impeachment.

But that fence-riding by Democrat leaders may have betrayed their real agenda if they retake the majority.

Following their past two failed attempts to remove Trump from office, Democrats understand that most Americans simply have no interest in another impeachment circus, particularly with so many other pressing issues facing the country. During Democrats’ first bogus impeachment of Trump, his approval rating actually went up.

But Democrats also understand that for their left-wing base, going after Trump is the number one priority – which they fully intend to deliver on if they retake power. The “present” votes are a wink and a nod to the progressive left that impeachment is absolutely on the table. All the “affordability” talk is just Democrats saying what they think they need to say in order to get elected.

That theory is backed up by a report from Axios detailing that some Democrats who voted to table the impeachment resolution weren’t opposed to the resolution itself – just the timing, which they feared would distract from the party’s midterm messaging.

Steve Scalise

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House Democrats just tried to impeach President Trump AGAIN. Socialism. Obstruction. Impeachment. THAT’s their agenda. They’re telling the American people EXACTLY what they’ll do if they take back power.

5:05 PM · Sep 15, 2026

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Leading Democrats have all but admitted as much in public statements. Earlier this month, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries if Democrats will pursue impeachment on day one if they retake power.

“We haven’t ruled anything out in terms of impeachment,” Jeffries responded.

A party that really has “affordability” as its top concern would absolutely rule out impeachment as a “day one” priority. But Jeffries and House Democrats have not done so.

The week before the vote on Green’s resolution, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, also appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press, where he was asked whether Democrats should impeach Trump if they retake the House.

Raskin effectively said yes: “The reality is that everybody on our side understands that impeachment is a critical tool in the toolbox for constitutional self-defense against a president acting like a king, an imperious, lawless, arrogant king.”

He insisted that impeachment was “not a fetish” or a “panacea” for Democrats, but clarified, “We will not hesitate to use it if we need to use it.”

Raskin, who served as Democrats’ lead impeachment manager during Trump’s second Senate trial, also alleged that Trump had “undoubtedly” committed impeachable offenses in his second term.

As much as they try to downplay it to maintain better midterm optics, it’s clear that Democrats are obsessed with plotting a third Trump impeachment. Trump himself seems to understand this. “They’re going to impeach me. They have no idea why,” the president said during a recent rally in South Carolina.

Democrats simply can’t help themselves. For a decade now, the party’s entire identity has been reactionary opposition to Trump. They haven’t abandoned that now – and political vengeance remains top of mind as the party looks to retake the majority in the House and the Senate.

Even when Trump was out of office, Democrats continued to lambast him as a fascist and authoritarian. They spent tens of millions of dollars trying to throw him and his supporters in prison.

All of that has come at the expense of Democrats having any sort of coherent agenda to deliver on anything other than “get Trump.” An honest media would pressure Democrats to explain how they plan to bring down the cost of gas and groceries and likely discover that they don’t have any concrete proposals to do either.

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that spending weeks on another ridiculous impeachment debacle that has precisely zero chance of securing the votes needed for a conviction in the Senate will bring down prices at the pump or reverse the disastrous effects of four years of inflation under the Biden administration.

That’s why this latest impeachment vote is so revealing. Democratic leaders know another Trump impeachment will look like pure vengeance to voters who already sat through two of them. So, they will talk about affordability for now, hopefully win the majority, and wait until after November to break out their favorite “tool in the toolbox.”