On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. The vote count was 232-197, with an astonishing 10 Republican Representatives joining Democrats to charge the President.
On December 18, 2019, Trump was impeached for the first time by the House of Representatives after a whistleblower detailed that Trump allegedly threatened to withhold foreign aid from the Ukrainian president, if he did not contribute to an investigation on President-elect Joe Biden.
Last year, I reported on the events, and my viewpoint was that the impeachment was unlikely to materialize into a conviction, due to the 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate, making it pointless. But this time, the article of impeachment, which charges Trump with “inciting violence against the United States” might be a legitimate threat to the remaining term and future of Trump. It also will make Trump the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, only affirming his legacy as the most polarizing and disdained President in history.
A Deadly Mob Attacked The Capitol
The article of impeachment is in response to the Jan. 6 heinous attacks on Capitol Hill by a deadly mob of Trump supporters who stormed the halls and chambers of the building, leaving five dead and the nation in absolute shock and terror. Prior to permanently getting banned from Twitter, Trump all but encouraged the deadly mob, claiming that these were “the things that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from them” as he described in a tweet before his account was permanently suspended.
He later told his supporters he “loved them” and to “go home,” as if they had not just committed insurrection against the United States. There is no question Donald Trump has contributed to where we currently are. His unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud that he has been planting into the minds of his supporters for months now have created distrust in the nation’s strong standing democratic institutions, and there is no telling if his damage is irreversible.
It is clear that Trump has no regard or loyalty even to those who have stood by his side since Day One, like Vice President Mike Pence, whose family was inside the Senate at the time of the attacks. Rioters chanted, “hang Mike Pence,” as they stormed the Capitol. A report from CNN’s Jim Acosta detailed that Trump didn’t contact the Vice President while his life was in danger and instead was attempting to call Republican lawmakers in a last-ditch effort to overturn his assured defeat.
Abhorrent and Sickening
As more and more footage and information about the January 6 attacks is revealed, the public is now seeing just how abhorrent and sickening the events were. Trump has still refused to take full responsibility for the attacks and lawmakers are getting more and more angry by the day as they are just now getting a holistic view of how much danger their lives were in.
The Impeachment
On Tuesday, prominent Republican House Representative Liz Cheney came out in support of the impeachment of Trump, boldly stating, “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.” It is not unexpected to see more Republicans join the impeachment efforts. Trump is a cancer to the Republican Party and the main reason he has been allowed to get this far is his base that has an almost cult-like loyalty to him.
The loyalty among the party elites and more establishment Republicans like Senator Mitt Romney has essentially eroded. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who whipped votes against Trump’s impeachment trial last year, reportedly is pleased the President is being impeached. There is no telling if Senator McConnell will whip votes against this impeachment or even vote to impeach Trump himself. As unbelievable as it may seem, there are a growing number of Republicans in even the Senate that might support the impeachment of Trump.
What It Would Take to Remove
To remove Donald Trump, it will take 66 Senators (or two-thirds) of the Senate to vote in favor of a conviction charge. If impeached and convicted and following a successful second vote, Trump will be barred from ever holding a federal political office again. He will also lose his presidential pension, travel allowance, and Secret Service protection detail.
His impeachment would be a historical moment in this country and would send a message to the world that no man, including the President of the United States, is above the law and will be held to the fullest extent of it if found guilty for their crimes.
What Do We Do With Donald Trump?
Donald Trump is a threat to the stability of the world’s oldest-living democracy. He has tricked millions of his supporters, some of whom are family, friends, and neighbors into backing fascism, masqueraded as “patriotism.”
He has made journalists out to be the enemy of the people, by no mistake. As rioters stormed the building, they scrawled “murder the media” on door to the Capitol. The free press and democracy, another crucial pillar to this country, is what he has seeked to delegitimize and there should be a price to pay for that.
We have already seen corporate America completely back away from Trump, although it is way too late. Deutsche Bank, the bank that has financed every major Trump-backed venture and arguably made the President what he is today, has cut ties with him. The New York Times, which revealed his tax returns last year indicated he owes $300 million to the bank which will be due next year. Now that ties are cut off, Trump has no way to extend these loans and must pay the due balance in the near future.
Trump Has Become a Pariah
Businesses like Twitter, YouTube, and many others have blocked Trump and his supporters from being able to use their platform to share their deranged and potentially dangerous messages. Internationally, Trump is a pariah and not welcomed. His Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly was forced to cancel a diplomatic trip to Luxembourg with the country’s foreign minister, after the country made it known he was not welcomed. But domestically, within our government, Trump has not been held to account like he should be. Impeachment is the minimum punishment Trump deserves.
Banishment from the Republican Party and a complete and total condemnation from every single one of his sycophants and enablers is essential. Men like Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and House Republicans, like my representative, Jody Hice, who stood by this man, even after the attacks we witnessed last week, should have no place in American politics or polite society and must answer and pay the price for their crimes.
Trump has stained the reputation of this country. There is no telling if the recent reign of terror on our nation’s Capitol is the end of this fascistic ideology that has plagued our country or if it is just the beginning. But one thing is clear, Donald Trump cannot get away with this and must pay the price for his unforgivable acts.
