Politics with Nolan: The Impeachment Sequel

By Nolan Cleary, Managing Editor

Many were shocked when President Donald Trump was impeached in early 2020 for allegedly trying to receive intel on Joe Biden’s son from Ukraine. He became the third President in history to be impeached and now, even after he left office, he is the first President to be impeached twice. 

Many claim that Trump’s efforts encouraged the recent violence at the Capitol building.

This time, Trump’s impeachment is the most bipartisan in history. 

Nine Republican House members opted to impeach the President. One of those Republicans was New York’s John Katko. Another being former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter, Liz Cheney. Cheney, who serves as the third most powerful member of the House, also crossed party lines to impeach the President. 

If Trump is convicted from the upcoming Senate trial, he could be barred from ever holding public office again. However, convicting Trump could be difficult. If sixty-seven Senators don’t vote against Trump, he will be acquitted in the Senate once again. This potentially gives him the incentive to run in 2024. 

Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine and 2016 Democratic nominee for Vice President, Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, introduced a measure to censure Trump. This could serve as an alternative to impeaching him but as means of ensuring robbing him of another political victory that could come from acquittal. The measure has since been abandoned due to the lack of support from both sides. 

What makes Trump’s second impeachment even more unique is that it continues even after Trump is not in the White House. This left many to wonder if it’s morally right or legal to hold an impeachment trial for a former President turned private citizen. 

At Hudson Valley Community College, students are largely mixed about the efforts to convict the former president. Tatiana Morange, a student in environmental science, says she believes Trump committed multiple crimes during his presidency that warranted impeachment. However, this isn’t one of them. 

“This is not how he should have been impeached. I believe it was unconstitutional and he should be allowed to run again,” Morange said. She also adds that if Democrats wanted to act on impeachment, they should’ve done so while Trump was in office. 

“They chose not to act on those things. With that being said, I have issues with the way the most recent impeachment happened. It’s to my understanding that it was done so that he could not run for office in the future. I believe this is un-democratic. The American people get to choose who we want as President, and to me, it is inappropriate for legislators to take that away from citizens. To be clear, I would feel differently if the scenario took place while President Trump was in office.” Morange said. 

Nikita Padunin, a student in bioengineering, says he also opposes impeachment. He doesn’t believe that Trump incited the storming of the Capitol.

“I don’t think [he committed any crimes] because there was really no evidence.” Padunin said.