Donald Trump is making history as the first president to be twice impeached. A majority of elected representatives from the House of Representatives voted, Wednesday, January 13, to formally indict the Republican president for having incited violence from the Capitol, paving the way for a second historic trial of the President of the United States.
The Democrat-dominated House of Representatives voted in favor of “impeachment” by 232 votes to 197. The 74-year-old Republican billionaire, who will give way to Joe Biden on January 20, is accused of to have encouraged the assault of his supporters on Capitol Hill which left five dead and shook American democracy.
“He has to go, he is an obvious and immediate danger against the nation we all love”, said shortly before Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, solemnly accusing her of having “incited to this insurrection, this armed rebellion”. A few days before his departure for Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he should begin his new life as a former president, Donald Trump appears extremely isolated.
Contrary to the act of impeachment in the Ukraine case over a year ago, several Republicans – 10 in total – voted in favor of committing to trial. Among them, Dan Newhouse hammered out that there was “no excuse for President Trump’s actions”. This vote marks the formal opening of the impeachment procedure against Donald Trump, and it is now up to the Senate to judge him.
But this trial raises many questions and opens a new chapter in American history. It won’t open until Jan. 19, or even more likely after Joe Biden’s inauguration, risking hampering legislative action by Democrats early in their presidency by monopolizing sessions.
Call for calm
All day long, the debates were lively. Democrat elected Ilhan Omar called Donald Trump “tyrant”. “We just can’t turn the page and do nothing”, she said. Among the Republicans, the positions were more contrasted. Fervent supporters of the Republican billionaire defended him tooth and nail, like Jim Jordan who denounced “an obsession” democrats. Or Matt Gaetz who pointed out that “millions of people love it so much” the outgoing president. But others have clearly distanced themselves.
A few hours before the vote, and in a city of Washington under high tension, Donald Trump had launched a new late call for calm. “NO violence, NO crime, NO vandalism”, he urged in a statement as new demonstrations are announced for the weekend. “I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions”, added the one who has been deprived in recent days of most of his favorite communication channels on social networks.
