Protesters call for Donald Trump’s impeachment and removal
After two days of Donald Trump‘s second impeachment trial (Tuesday was the argument over whether the trial is constitutional, and Wednesday was the first day of substantive arguments), we have a very sharp contrast between the parties.
The Democratic House Impeachment Managers who are presenting the case against Trump, especially Reps. Jamie Raskin and Joe Neguse, effectively used video and slides to show that, after a months-long campaign of lies about a “stolen election,” Donald Trump incited his militant supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, at the very moment the Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden‘s Electoral College victory, and that these terrorists immediately followed Trump’s orders and attacked. Trump then pathetically tried to cover up his incitement with a statement and a tweet hours after the fact, telling the terrorists to go home in peace, but not until after telling them, “we love you. You’re very special.”
The defense that Trump’s lawyers, especially Bruce Castor, have put on has been notably inept and meandering, and has been received with a lot of criticism and mockery, including the following:
Is Mr. Castor just… ad libbing?
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) February 9, 2021
Not surprisingly, Donald Trump is reportedly unhappy with his legal defense team’s performance thus far. Likewise, Republican Senator William Cassidy said:
Of course, that may be because the “issue at hand” clearly does not favor Donald Trump.
None of this, however, may matter when it comes to the Senate vote on convicting Trump at the end of the impeachment trial. Even if all 50 Democratic Senators vote to convict Trump, some 17 Republicans would need to break party ranks and join the Democrats to reach the requisite two-thirds (67) vote majority for conviction. That is extremely unlikely. The Republican Senators are not bound by obvious facts here, or legal doctrines, when voting. However, these Senators may want to keep in mind that Trump’s impeachment trial is a political process taking place in a court of public opinion that includes not just the Senate but the country and the world. The Republican Senators ultimately will be held accountable for their vote the next time they stand for re-election, which in many cases will be November 2022. The Democratic House Managers’ job, therefore, is to present their case in a dynamic, effective way so as to influence such public opinion to the greatest possible extent. Thus far, they are doing their job brilliantly.
Photo by Phil Roeder, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/zj8i9w