Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Billionaire investor doubles funding for Trump impeachment campaign

The political donor has now put forward $20m

Jeremy B. White
San Francisco
Thursday 09 November 2017 16:39 EST
Comments
Tom Steyer, seen here at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Vista, California, on October 31, 2017, is spending big on getting Trump out of office
Tom Steyer, seen here at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Vista, California, on October 31, 2017, is spending big on getting Trump out of office ( REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tom Steyer is showing what happens when bottomless pockets meet limitless anger against Donald Trump.

The liberal mega donor announced he was adding $10 million to his effort to see Mr Trump impeached, funding a pair of new television spots calling for the President’s removal from office.

Mr Steyer had already poured $10 million into the effort, bankrolling spots warning that the President “is a clear and present danger who is mentally unstable and armed with nuclear weapons”.

The effort seems to have caught the attention of Mr Trump, who assailed Mr Steyer in a tweet as “wacky” and “unhinged” - evidently after seeing one of the impeachment advert during a break from “Fox and Friends”, a program the President regularly watches.

In addition to paying for ads, Mr Steyer has pushed Democrats to make clear that they back Mr Trump’s impeachment ahead of 2018 elections in which Democrats hope to capitalize on anti-Trump sentiment.

Should they win a majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats would have a clearer path to pursuing Mr Trump’s impeachment. Some Congress members have already openly talked about removing Mr Trump, with Democrat Al Green vowing to force a vote on articles of impeachment by Christmas. Other Democrats have sought to play down the idea of impeachment.

Mr Steyer has argued that Democrats’ constituents broadly support impeachment, and he can marshal some evidence: his petition to impeach Mr Trump quickly surpassed one million signatures and is approaching two million.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in