Trump After Impeachment: Erosion has started

Former US President Trump and his supporters may celebrate the innocence in their second impeachment. But the process of isolating Republicans from Trump has begun.

It happened the way it was. As expected, Donald Trump was also acquitted in the second impeachment. Not guilty! Once again standing in victory mode. Trump supporters see themselves as confirmed by two basic beliefs: The enemies of their idol not only want to destroy him, but above all, you are by all means. Fortunately, Superman Trump is invincible. The impeachment victory reinforces all the myths on the right surrounding Donald Trump. So one can give in assuming that the five days of negotiations weren’t just for the cat, it was counterproductive.

Sebastian Hesse
ARD-Studio Washington

But wait, this goes very fast. Because there was one thing the prosecutors had undisputedly accomplished: Your bid in the Senate meanwhile stunned the nation’s breath. Above all, the haunting photos from the videos are under your skin. Not many have been seen before: videos of participants storming the Capitol, right in the middle of the action, or physical camera recordings of police officers. So close, so close, there wasn’t anyone who hadn’t been around before. These images were burned into the collective memory of the Americans. They were so powerful that Trump’s advocates faltered – and publicly admitted that the prosecution’s presentation was pretty cool.

Evidence is rolling into the base

In their disgust at seeing such brute force, everyone in the United States agrees across party lines. But this disgust did not automatically translate into Trump’s blame. Senators who acquitted Trump feared that Trump could retaliate their careers if he returned, and that their party would no longer win the election if it alienated voters Trump had opened for them. The president still rules his party under control. Two-thirds of Republicans believe his fairy tale is about election fraud.

But what could have a long-term impact is that the horrific recordings never stand on their own: They were always associated with seeing the angry president, how he was frothy and angry. Two series of images that are not easy to separate. This starts from Trump’s fanatical base – but perhaps not on his more moderate voters. A while ago, the first Republicans to criticize Trump would dare to take cover – not least the seven Senators who voted with Democrats to condemn Trump. The person who acquitted Trump, the leader of the congressional group McConnell, immediately relieved his conscience by recommending that Trump be tried in a criminal court.

An erosion process began here, slowly but noticeably. The isolation process will likely have reinforced this. More was not possible for the Democrats. But at least that.