Former Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said during a recent NBC interview that the less Americans talk about impeachment, the better off we are as a country.
"We don't know if the president will survive this. Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. But some Democrats are already talking about impeachment," NBC reporter Heidi Przybyla said during the interview, which aired Wednesday. "Assuming the House flips, is there a danger in that because that didn't work out so well for the Republicans?"
"I don't know. I've been through impeachment. I was a brand-new whip at the time. I had never sat down in the front row. I mean, the Supreme Court was right ahead of me, Rehnquist was up there ... Everything going on was right in front of me," Reid said, referring back to his time as the Senate Minority Whip during the impeachment proceedings of former President Bill Clinton. "So, I've been through an impeachment, and they're not pleasant. And I think the less we talk about impeachment, the better off we are as a country."
Democrats are split when it comes to pushing for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Party leaders like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said impeaching Trump is something Democrats shouldn't pursue but also noted roughly one-third of the Democratic caucus supported advancing Rep. Al Green's (D., Texas) articles of impeachment in January. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel warned fellow Democrats against misusing impeachment, saying it is not a "political tool."
Meanwhile, Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer continues his campaign to impeach Trump.
A recent NPR poll revealed 47 percent of voters would oppose a candidate who wished to impeach Trump, compared to 42 percent of those who would support such a candidate. The poll showed 70 percent of Democratic voters would back a candidate favoring impeachment.