Nine months into President Donald Trump's first term, some liberals believe the president could be removed from office, and there is a chance Hillary Clinton could still become president.
In a recent interview with NPR, Clinton herself raised the possibility of challenging the legitimacy of the 2016 election depending on the results of the investigation into Russia's interference in the election.
"Would you completely rule out questioning the legitimacy of this election if we learn that the Russian interference in the election is even deeper than we know now?" NPR's Terry Gross asked.
"No. I would not. I would say—" Clinton began.
"You're not going to rule it out," Gross interjected.
"No, I wouldn't rule that out," Clinton said.
The next day Clinton disappointed her supporters and said she is not contesting the election.
"That's right … Nobody's talking about contesting the election, including me," Clinton said, to some groans in the audience. "There is no mechanism."
That didn't stop actor Carl Reiner from believing Clinton could one day replace Trump as the commander-in-chief. He tweeted early Wednesday morning about his excitement that the election could be invalidated, and Clinton could be installed as president.
Is there anything more exciting that the possibility of Trump's election being invalidated & Hillary rightfully installed as our President?
— carl reiner (@carlreiner) September 20, 2017
This isn't the first time liberals have believed in the possibility of Clinton becoming president.
Days after the elections, several publishers promoted the idea that Clinton could still win the election by having the electors in the Electoral College vote for Clinton despite the majority of residents in those states voting for Trump. A Change.org petition soon circulated online that collected almost 5 million signatures. It urged the Electoral College to make Clinton president despite her receiving 227 Electoral College votes to Trump's 304.
https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/797900215571320832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fheavy.com%2Fnews%2F2016%2F11%2Fcan-hillary-still-win-clinton-election-donald-trump-rigged-2016-presidential%2F
CNN commentator Sally Kohn tweeted back in February a "straight forward" plan on how Trump could be removed and Clinton take his place.
Straightforward from here:
1. Impeach Trump & Pence
2. Constitutional crisis
3. Call special election
4. Ryan v Clinton
5. President Clinton— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) February 15, 2017
Kohn wasn't the only one to lay out a step by step plan. Washington Free Beacon writer Andrew Stiles laid out how in 36 simple steps, Clinton could still become President.
In March, former Clinton adviser Peter Daou explained in a long tweetstorm that because Clinton won the popular vote, she should take the Oval Office if the Russia investigation were to uncover evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government.
23. At that point, the only fair and just resolution is to have popular vote winner Hillary Clinton take office. Or to hold a new election. pic.twitter.com/uTLVnny9sG
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) March 26, 2017
Daily Kos published a May article titled, "How Hillary can STILL become the 45th President: The Proper Result of a Trump-Russia Smoking-gun." The article argued impeaching Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence isn't enough because that would make Speaker of the House Paul Ryan the new president. The author argues the Supreme Court needs to invalidate the results the Electoral College, not the election itself. This would force the electoral college to meet again and calculate the new winner of each state, not counting the votes cast for Trump.
Obviously, since any votes for the Trump/Pence ticket would be disregarded, the Clinton/Kaine ticket would be declared the winner of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, netting them 538 Electoral Votes. The slate of electors, newly certified by each state, would meet in the state capital on whatever date the Court prescribed for the Electoral College to reconvene. They would follow the normal procedure for voting to determine to whom the presidency and vice-presidency rightly belong.
Earlier this week, online news publisher Bustle posted an article entitled, "Could Hillary Clinton Still Become President? The Russia Investigation Could Change Things."
While liberals wait for the Russia investigation results, they can visit websites like hillarybeattrump.org to imagine what life would be like under President Hillary Clinton.