I've said it before, demeanor is your outward appearance. A misdemeanor is a negative outward appearance. If Trump was a drunk, that is not illegal. If he gave a speech while intoxicated, it would be perfectly within the rights of the House to impeach him for this misdemeanor. It's not criminal, but his outward appearance does not reflect the dignity of the office. You could impeach a President for hitting on the Queen. That's not criminal, but it would reflect poorly on the US. Remember, the President is primarily a figurehead, and if they are tarnishing that role, they can be impeached. If Democrats had the balls to impeach him for his behavior, they would have had more support than they would for manufacturing criminal charges.

I don't think it would have affected him, because the American people knew who he was when they elected him. In fact, some people voted for him BECAUSE he would be uncouth. As I posted before, no one has really been brought down by behavior alone. Most people in congress have opted to let the reputation hit be enough to oust the offender at the next election. Impeachments have largely been reserved for criminal behaviors. The idea with impeachment, though, is that if they rolled the dice because they thought his behavior was unacceptable and the American public didn't agree with them, it would affect their political careers. It has, and it is going to. Obviously not in the deep blue states, but in swing districts some of these politicians are in trouble. That's working as intended.

Also, I wouldn't worry about removal. It would be dang near impossible for one party to have a super majority and not be doing the will of the people. If the Dems can get that many seats, most Americans aren't going to be upset if they remove someone from office. If they do, that super majority won't be a thing in the next election.

Also, for the poster looking for a definition of misdemeanor, here you go:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at...ys-a-crime

---