Anadi Naik
The American drama of “Donald Trump’s impeachment” is over and he is acquitted. He is no longer the President. Therefore, the US Senate decided it has no authority to convict him. In a way the whole thing was more of a political drama than an actual trial. The verdict was known before the trial began. It was a strictly party line vote. Seven Republican senators joined their Democratic counterparts; still there was no two-thirds majority to convict Trump. The Democratic majority in the House of Delegates found that Donald Trump as President committed “high crime and misdemeanor”. They brought it to the Senate for trial. Very shrewdly, Mitch McConnell, the majority leader put the trial off for a few days. A special election in the state of Georgia was coming up. Any negative comments about the President or the party during the trial could influence the voters negatively. So he bid for time. However, Georgia chose two Democratic senators and McConnell lost his job.
In his explanation to the world, McConnell said after the trial that “Trump is practically and morally responsible for the incitement” that happened at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. It was the result of his “disgraceful dereliction of duty,” he said. Yet, he had not tried to persuade any of his fellow Republicans to vote to convict Trump.
For five consecutive days the drama of impeachment played out on national media. People everywhere for one more time watched the vivid pictures of the mob attacking the US Capitol. There was plenty of argument from both sides. Finally, when it came to vote against a President who caused all that havoc, it was the need for survival that prevailed.
Right now, Trump is sitting on $340 million that he can use for any public purpose he wants to. Out of this, $70 million, leftover from his previous election, he can use for his own election or the election of whosoever he chooses. The rest of the money was collected from his supporters who wanted to help him to overturn the election result. He could spend that money any way he wants. Republican senators are afraid that should they vote against him he could set up candidates against them in the primary or could urge his supporters to vote against them. After all, 74 million Americans voted for Donald Trump. This is a number, higher than what he secured last time, no Republican presidential candidate had ever reached before. Joe Biden got 85 million and beat him because of a meticulous Voters Registration Strategy among the Blacks in the South.
The trial and its result prove that Trump represents a mindset in America that is in danger of fading. Neither science nor reality is able to sustain it. Yet, millions hold on to that mindset because it is convenient and they are used to it. Trump has tapped into their frustration and anger. To coal miners he promised to reopen the closed coal mines. To the idle workers at towns of old steel mills he promised to reopen them. When that could not happen he blamed bureaucrats who nitpicked on everything in the name of law and rules. He accused immigrants and China for the debacles of the rust-belt. Losing their familiar jobs and seeing their small towns rot in neglect, this section of Americans needed to blame somebody for their misfortune. Trump channels their anger for them and they love it. The senators who were to judge Trump, especially from deep red states, could not escape the fact that should they convict him; they will remain forever guilty in the hearts of their constituents who so overwhelmingly voted for Trump. They could not risk their careers.
The drama of the Donald Trump impeachment shows that democracy is fragile thing. Had Trump had any ally in the American military, he would have been the President today. But the military to its credit, remained true to its oath. The House of Delegates did the right thing by accusing him of insurrection and incitement through impeachment. However, the fundamental tenets of democracy, peaceful transfer of power, were never in doubt. Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States and Trump was dumped into history. There has been no precedence of trial by the Senate of an American President after he left his job. He or she can be tried in a regular court. Yes, there was a riot and four tragic deaths occurred. But the fundamental of the democratic order of the United States was never in any danger.
The writer lives in the USA. He can be reached acnaik@aol.com