NAACP Calls for the Impeachment of President Trump

While former special prosecutor Robert Mueller testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday, news of the NAACP’s resolution calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump based on his disparaging comments about African Americans began to make headlines.

“I agree with it totally,” said Dr. Ray Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. “And, other Black social groups, e.g., Black Greeks, the Urban League should follow suit.”

The nation’s oldest civil rights organization met in Detroit this week for its 110^th annual conference where delegates voted unanimously to impeach Trump. The President had been invited to address the delegates, but he said the date for his speech had been changed and indicated the question-and-answer format was problematic.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson tweeted, “Trump’s misconduct is unmistakable and has proven time and time again, that he is unfit to serve as the president of this country.”

In addition to the NAACP, 87 House members have called for impeachment proceedings. Congressional leadership remains reluctant. Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained to reporters today that she and other leaders have filed subpoenas for information relevant to a possible impeachment.

“My position has always been whatever decision we make in that regard would have to be done with our strongest hand, and we still have some outstanding matters in the courts. It’s about the Congress, the Constitution and the courts,” Speaker Pelosi said at a news conference after Wednesday’s hearings. “And, we are fighting the President in the courts.”

Making the Case

The NAACP resolution cited Trump with harming “American society by attempting to convert and by converting his bigoted statements into United States policy.” The document outlined examples of the alleged misconduct which included the Trump Administration’s partial shutdown of immigration from mainly Muslim countries in 2017, comments Trump made following the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally  during which he described the Neo-Nazi protesters as “fine people”, and the President’s most recent remarks directed at four Congresswomen of color he directed to “go back” where they came from which touched off a storm of controversy.

Winbush remarked, “While the resolution is non-binding, it sends a strong message that Black people have utter contempt for Trump and that racism is a “high crime” and an impeachable offense.”

Several of the Democratic Presidential candidates attended the convention including former Vice-President Joe Biden, Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker. Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro also addressed delegates.