Watergate redux: Donald Trump impeachment inquiry heads for live TV, but who will be watching?

The impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump begins its public phase on Wednesday, and people will be watching on screens and debating it online

But some experts think that most will have already made up their minds about the US president, and the inquiry won’t change minds

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The public phase of the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump will start on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:15am, 11 Nov 2019Updated: 7:10pm, 11 Nov 2019

Back in 1973, tens of millions of Americans tuned in to what Variety called “the hottest daytime soap opera” – the Senate Watergate hearings that eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

It was a communal experience, and by some estimates, more than 80 per cent of Americans tuned in to at least part of the Watergate telecasts. They were offered by ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as PBS, which won acclaim and viewers by showing not only the live hearings but also the full-length replays in prime time.

Seeing the witnesses lay out the case against the president moved public opinion decidedly in favour of impeachment.

But this time might be different.

When the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump begins its public phase on Wednesday, people will be watching on screens large and small. Many, in fact, are likely to be watching the proceedings on more than one screen, while real-time reinforcement of their pre-existing views of Trump are relayed on social media platforms and other mediums not existent in Nixon’s time.