After the announcement of an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, political pundits, media organizations and citizens have all debated the potential impacts and the repercussions of the House’s inquiry.
This weekend, the Daily Emerald asked University of Oregon students about their thoughts on the impeachment inquiry.
Emily Pon, senior studying human physiology
“I don’t think he’s [Trump] going to win again in 2020, hopefully.”
“I don’t like Trump, but I prefer him to Pence.”
Finn Riley, sophomore studying physical anthropology
“I think that there should have been an impeachment inquiry sooner in his career as president.”
“He’s clearly not fit and professional enough to be president of the United States and represent us.”
“People can debate all day whether he’s racist and sexist but the fact of the matter is, is that he’s inspired bigots and hate crimes, and just for that — regardless of what he truly believes — he just, factfully, is inspiring people.”
Emma Miller, sophomore studying medieval studies
“It’s been a long time coming. … There have been a lot of things he’s done that are definitely suspect.”
“They need to be careful because impeachment is such a rare process. They don’t want to make it an easy process. They need to make sure that it’s being done for the right reasons so that people in the future don’t use it for political retribution.”
Isabel Moore, senior studying political science and math
“I feel like it’s about time. … I’ve always thought that we should impeach, otherwise it sets a bad precedent. If he isn’t impeached for what he’s done, at that point, what would actually constitute impeachment?”
Shaheen Danyal, junior from Malaysia studying political science
“It’s entertaining to watch [as a foreigner], because Trump is not just the president of the United States. … He’s a character.”
“I feel like people here [in the U.S.], their opinions are more accurate. We [foreigners] only see what’s on the news and from social media. I feel like people talk more here, because they care more and need to care more because what Trump does affects them.”
