[ad_1]
Although the Senate acquitted Donald Trump was almost certain, there was no doubt that the former president sighed with relief when he heard the decision.
And the most pressing question on the American political scene remains: What impact will the decision have on Trump’s future (74 years), and also on the Republican party to which he belongs, as well as on Democratic President Joe Biden, who considered his predecessor’s escape from condemnation “a sad chapter in American history.”
Donald Trump denounces
Trump condemned, in a statement following the decision not to convict him, what he described as a “relentless campaign” against him, and referred to the future.
“Our historic, patriotic and wonderful movement to make America great again has just begun,” he said.
He added: “A lot of work awaits us and we will soon come out with the vision of a bright, bright and limitless American future.”
Trump has not previously ruled out running for the next presidential election in 2024, and any conviction would have prevented him from returning to federal office.
Since leaving the White House on January 20, Trump has stayed at his resort in Maralago while being deprived of his Twitter account, which he used to address his millions of followers.
The vote of an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Senate in favor of Trump’s acquittal is an indication of his influence (Al-Jazeera)Capri Cafaro of the American University in Washington, who was a Democrat in the Ohio Senate, said Trump’s acquittal could be a “rallying cry” for him and his supporters.
But he noted that “the legacy of Donald Trump may be limited to many at this stage to the events of January 6, regardless of acquittal.”
“There will be Americans who think Trump played some role,” he said, which could also be reflected in the real estate mogul’s activities in the private sector.
“It seems that he has no choice but to continue his attempts to enter politics,” he said.
Brown University political science professor Wendy Shiller agrees that Trump’s future may be limited.
“If companies give you the opportunity to appear and speak, the reaction on social media will be rapid and intense, with the possibility of boycotting their products,” he said.
“Even holding press conferences or events on Trump-owned properties will be a problem for large publicly traded companies or companies that provide direct products to consumers,” he added.
the republican party
The overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Senate vote in favor of Trump’s acquittal is an indication of the influence he still maintains within his party.
“The game is for him, not for anyone else,” said Georgia House Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, who is among his strong supporters.
But 7 Republican members of the Senate voted in favor of his conviction, while 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted in favor of impeaching him last month, including Representative Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
And although the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, voted in favor of the acquittal of the former president, he indicated that Trump is “practically and morally” responsible for the violence that occurred on January 6.
Several Republicans have distanced themselves from the former president as they prepare to test their chances of reaching the White House in 2024.
Among them was South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who said Republicans had made a mistake in supporting Trump’s campaign to reverse the election results, leading to the attack on the House of Congress.
“He (Trump) took a path of what he should have taken and what we should have followed,” Haley said in an interview with POLITICO.
Trump supporters stormed the Congress building in an attempt to block Joe Biden’s approval of the victory (Anadolu Agency)He also downplayed expectations that Trump will run for president in 2024, saying, “I don’t think he can. He’s made a big mistake.”
But Republicans calling for a complete break with Trump remain a minority, while many of them fear the influence he wields among his popular base.
Wendy Schiller said: “The Republican senators who voted to acquit him may be shielding themselves from initial challenges from the strictest wing of their party in 2022 or even 2024. But, in parallel, they may become more vulnerable to defeat in the general election.” .
Cafaro also noted that Republicans who remain loyal to Trump are taking a “very dangerous” bet.
“They make a decision based on a period of time that may no longer exist for them two years from now,” he said.
A group of former Republican officials opposed to Trump proposed the idea of establishing a third center-right party, but the measure is unlikely to take shape.
From the past
The trial to impeach Trump has tarnished the beginning of Biden’s presidency, and Democrats are undoubtedly comfortable that it took no more than 5 days.
And the Senate will now be able to act quickly to establish the figures that Biden named in his administration and work on his legislative agenda at a time when the country faces the crisis caused by Covid-19 and its severe economic repercussions.
“President Biden has done a very good job of distancing himself from impeachment and restricting his message to the Covid-19 crisis and the economic crisis that accompanied it,” Shiller said.
Biden calls Trump’s escape from conviction “a sad chapter in American history.”But Trump remains a force to be reckoned with. “We cannot say that we have immunity from further protests and activism from the extreme right,” Capri-Cafaro said.
Trump’s Senate trial lasted 5 days, in the same building his supporters stormed on Jan.6, shortly after they attended a rally in which Trump delivered a speech that his opponents considered inciting.
Democrats were waiting for an indictment to hold Trump accountable for the building’s siege, which killed 5 people, including a police officer, and set the stage for a vote that would prevent him from holding public office again.
They said allowing Trump to take office again would make him not hesitate to once again encourage political violence.
[ad_2]
