Donald Trump has been acquitted on both charges of impeachment. The Senate voted 52-48 to acquit him of abuse of power (for asking the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden), and 53-47 for obstruction of Congress.
Well, we kind of knew this was going to happen.
Trump, of course, is over the moon, posting this scary video that clearly came from a dream he had where he was master ruler of the universe for the rest of time.
pic.twitter.com/JDS4zUXXJG
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2020
Is Everything Terrible?
It’s actually not!
If Trump was found guilty and impeached, Vice President Mike Pence would have automatically ascended to President, a prospect that is almost scarier than Trump himself.
Trump wouldn’t have lost all his power either. There’s no doubt that he would have become a martyr among his followers and the Jesus comparisons would have only become more commonplace. Yes, there are really people in the world who think Trump is the reincarnation of Jesus.
#RejectTheCoverup at TRUMP TOWER in NYC chanting, “Lock him up, Lock him up!”#ImpeachedPresident #ImpeachmentVote pic.twitter.com/v1KwFoNF0M
— Peter Morley (@morethanmySLE) February 5, 2020
Republican senator Mitt Romney broke party lines to vote with the Democrats to impeach Trump on charges of abuse of power. He is the first senator in US history who voted to remove a president of his own party.
In case you don’t remember, Mitt Romney was the 2012 Republican presidential candidate and lost to Obama. He’s a hugely influential figure in the Mormon church and pretty conservative, so the fact that he voted to dump Trump is kind of a big deal.
What Now?
Romney’s vote shows how disenfranchised a lot of respected Republicans are with the current leadership of the party. If they were in Australia, there would have been a party spill months ago.
Both Bill Clinton and Andrew Jackson, the other two presidents who’ve gone to trial for impeachment, were acquitted, yet impeachment was an irremovable stain on their legacies. People are tired of Trump and many of his voters are realising he isn’t the President they thought he would be. Hopefully this momentum will keep going until the elections at the end of the year.
It’s still too early to say how this is going to influence the vote, and there’s going to be a lot of political analysis but dear God, I hope he isn’t elected again. None of us can do this for another four years.
Image Sources: Twitter, GIPHY
