Trump Escapes Impeachment, Continues To Hold Republicans Hostage

The U.S. Senate voted 57-43 Saturday to acquit former president Donald Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol.

The Senate failed to reach the two-thirds majority of 67 votes needed to convict Trump. Nevertheless, seven Republican senators voted to convict the former president, a record number for members of a party voting against their president.

The vote shows that while Trump's hold on the Republican Party has not completely loosened, the party is now openly dissatisfied with him, and it appears that the internal conflict within the Republican Party will only intensify.

Trump is the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice during his time in office. Only one Republican senator voted to convict Trump on a single article of impeachment in 2019, while seven voted to convict this time around, making it clear that members of Trump’s own party are fed up with his language and behavior. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against conviction, harshly criticized Trump after the verdict and asserted that Trump should be held materially and morally responsible for inciting the riot in the Capitol. McConnell voted against conviction on the grounds that Trump is no longer president and was not subject to impeachment.

McConnell's opposition, like that of many Republicans, was based on concern that impeachment would plunge the the Republican Party into a storm of division. However, McConnell must now denounce Trump and take a political and moral position on the insurrection at the Capitol. He must put distance between himself and Trump. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for the Republican Party to win back the trust of the American people. More laughable is the fact that Trump, immediately after his acquittal, blamed the Democrats for a "witch hunt," saying that a historic campaign to "Make America Great Again" has only just begun and that he felt no remorse for his actions.

The Democratic Party, on the other hand, handled this impeachment strategically. After the insurrection at the Capitol, which roiled the American public, U.S. democracy was disgraced. If the Democratic Party had not taken action, the United States would surely have become a international laughingstock. Moreover, with Trump threatening to return to the White House in 2024, the Democratic Party must put an immediate stop to this momentum and deflect the frenzy of Trump supporters. After the House of Representatives voted to impeach last month, Trump has sharply moderated his words and behavior, while the Republicans' condemnation of Trump has become increasingly public. The impeachment had a clear impact.

During the Senate impeachment trial, the Democrats could have called on witnesses to show that Trump not only had prior knowledge that there would be a riot at the Capitol, but that he instigated the insurrection. Yet, the Democrats chose not to call witnesses at the last minute. The reason for this was most likely that President Joe Biden sought to put an end to the impeachment proceedings as soon as possible so they would not stall the effort to rebuild bipartisanship and trust. More importantly, the Democratic Party holds only 48 seats in the Senate; even counting the two Independent Party members, it was unlikely for that the Senate would reach the two-thirds threshold needed to convict. Accordingly, after surmising how many Republicans might defect, the Democrats decided to rest their case quickly and simply leave it for the history books.

According to polls conducted by the media prior to impeachment, 56% of the American public believed that Trump should be convicted. However, there are also polls showing that if Trump formed another party, 60% of Republicans would be willing to leave with him. Well aware of this type of thinking, Trump warned Republican lawmakers that they should support him and threatened to form a separate "Patriot Party." It was only when he was sure that the votes would be in his favor that he retracted his threat. Trump is too skilled at leveraging the populist game and holds the Republican Party in the palm of his hand. Indeed, he has achieved his objectives. The Senate trial featured a video of the Capitol riot, and many Republican lawmakers were shocked by Trump's abuse of power. They believe that this has killed his chances of running for president again in 2024.

However, it will still be a struggle for the Republican Party to completely regroup itself "post-Trump." The chasm in the Republican Party is only growing wider. It has been reported that between 60 and 70 officials from the George W. Bush administration have decided to leave the Republican Party, and many Republican members of the House and Senate are drawing a clean line between themselves and Trump. The problem is that as long as a large number of Trump fans still dance to the tune of the Pied Piper, Republicans cannot simply ignore Trump. For now, at least, there is no one prominent enough to erase his shadow.

The Republican Party’s situation is somewhat like that of the Democratic Progressive Party after the outbreak of President Chen Shui-bian's corruption case; although there were voices in support of the DPP, they all eventually fell silent. With Trump's acquittal, the Republican Party will continue to be held hostage by his whims. Trump once criticized Washington as a "swamp" of corruption when, in fact, he himself has been the biggest polluter.