Historically, the acquittal of Donald Trump by the United States Senate on Wednesday, February 5, after his impeachment trial is in more ways than one. He is only the third president in the history of the United States to know such a fate. But he is the first in this case to campaign for his re-election, despite "Asterisk" of impeachment, now attached to its name, underlines the Washington Post.
Finally, for the first time, a senator, Mitt Romney, voted for the removal of a president from his camp. "Trump can no longer technically say that this procedure was carried out by the Democrats alone", adds the daily. But for him, as for some of the press, this trial mainly confirms the extreme partisan divide in American political life.
"The drama of impeachment will further institutionalize the polarization of Washington for years to come", Write the Wall street journal. The "Trauma" leaves two major figures from each party, Donald Trump among the Republicans and the speaker from the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi from the Democrats, "Unable to work together".
"A joke made at the expense of the Constitution"
The positions of the senators, camped on partisan lines, also worry certain editorialists as for the solidity of the institutions and the significance of this vote for the future of the republican party. In his editorial, the New york times estimate that “The trial was a joke made at the expense of the Constitution. Anyone hoping for a demonstration of responsible governance or the defense of the separation of powers can only be dismayed. "
For the Los Angeles Times, "The Senate has not only given its approval to "crimes" from the president, but he also encouraged a victorious Trump to violate the Constitution again. ” acquitted, "He will feel more free to cheat in the next election" : "If that is the case, the senators who have turned a blind eye to these misdeeds can be considered his accomplices. "
Vox goes even further, denouncing among Republican senators a "Corrupt legalism, common to dominant political parties in democracies that have slipped into autocracy". The Washington Post also stresses the purely political nature of this trial: "Senators voted with their political future in mind, more than the facts. " And if the daily recognizes that "Partisan loyalty is not abnormal in political life", however, he believes that "The intensity with which the elected officials defended the president is" : "Trump has created an environment that leaves no room for distancing, even (and above all) when faced with allegations as serious as those put forward on Ukraine. "
" Personality cult "
Acquittal therefore marks for politico "The end of a spectacular chapter in the presidential scandal that has above all accelerated and accentuated Trump's grip on a party he once despised." The trial also illustrates "How dependent the Republicans are on Mr. Trump and his destructive approach, adds the New York Times. The disintegration of the party allowed its takeover by an authoritarian leader like Trump and its transformation into a cult of personality. ”
While it is difficult to predict what the consequences of this epilogue will be for the November election, Fox News recalls the results of the Gallup poll released the day before the acquittal. With a 49% approval rate (and 94% among Republicans), Trump records the highest figures in his term. And add the Wall street journal, also "Baffling and exasperating as it may be for Democrats, impeachment may actually have increased Trump's chances of being re-elected in the fall".
The vote of some Democrats for dismissal could backfire, including the thirty elected representatives in districts won by Trump in 2016. The New york times prognosis for that to win, "Mr. Trump can do whatever he wants, the party will support him."
The conservative site Washington Examiner finally believes that "Despite his lamentations at "witch hunt", the business ends pretty well for Trump " : "He is acquitted, he is still president and he will spend the next eight months attacking the Democrats. " A few minutes after the announcement of his acquittal, the American president published on Twitter a video parody suggesting that he could remain president ad vitam aeternam.
