Getting rid of a popular upstart

OPINION polls predict Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, will lose the American presidential election to Democrat Hillary Clinton. He could nonetheless win. If so, Congress may at some stage be tempted to impeach him. Democrats and the Republican top brass would be happy to see him sacked. Putative vice-president Mike Pence would succeed to the White House, much more to the liking of the barons of the US establishment.

The US constitution makes getting rid of presidents a political matter. The House of Representatives votes to impeach on misconduct grounds. The Senate conducts a trial and a two-thirds majority is required for a guilty verdict. In reality it is a vote of no confidence rather than a legal issue.

Misconduct is "treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanours", none of which are defined. The vague grounds for impeachment allow the House of Representatives to choose whatever excuse it likes. Moreover, the Supreme Court (president Richard Nixon's impeachment in 1974) has ruled that the judiciary cannot review a congressional decision.