***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***
The Democratic Party and media crusade to impeach President Trump didn’t appear to be going well Sunday, as New Jersey Democratic Congressman Jeff Van Drew was set to vote against the Articles of Impeachment and become a Republican in the process. ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Sunday Today spent some of their mornings trying to convince the public it was no big deal. Yet, part of the intent of the hearings was to peel Republicans away from Trump, which would’ve been celebrated.
“This representative, Jeff Van Drew from New Jersey is a freshman Democrat. He's not only going to vote against impeachment, but he’s actually going to quit the Democratic Party and join the Republicans,” prefaced ABC co-anchor Dan Harris to chief anchor George Stephanopoulos. “Is this consequential in your mind?”
After admitting it was “good news” for President Trump, Stephanopoulos attempted to discount Van Drew defection as just political maneuvering:
STEPHANOPOULOS: You have to look at the specific facts of Jeff Van Drew's district. He does come -- he's a Democrat, but he does come from a Trump district inside New Jersey. And it became pretty clear once he announced he was against the impeachment inquiry back in the fall that he was going to face a Democratic challenger in the primary. And the polls showed that a majority of Democrats actually were against re-electing Jeff Van Drew.
“So in some way, if he wanted to hold onto his seat, he had no choice. The question will be, will Trump's support make the difference in his re-election, because he's going to face a tough Republican primary as well,” he added.
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