Underneath all that poor political performance art carried out by the Democrats at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is something that has got to be making them uneasy.
That something is the fact that Donald Trump, unwittingly or not, is laying an impeachment trap for them.
Consider what was written almost a year ago.
“Many Democrats fear that Trump may be laying an impeachment trap,” Stephen Collins wrote for CNN last May. “It’s possible that the wider political divides get, the more Trump benefits. The spectacle would help him charge up the political base he needs to turn out in droves in 2020 with claims their 2016 votes were being stolen by political elites.”
De ja vous anyone?
In 2021, with this second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Democrats are about to set foot inside a political booby trap of their own making. Their insistence on going forward with impeachment proceedings is not going to make Trump go away. It is going to make things better than ever for him.
The outcome of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is almost certainly predetermined — that he will be acquitted. The outcome of an acquittal for Trump will have its consequences.
Those consequences will be meted out to the Democrats, who, through their own hubris and self-deception, have screwed up with this one.
Democrats would like you to think they are prosecuting a crime. They are not though. They are putting on a political show and not a particularly good one at that. Their shameless theatrics run the gamut from a cringing organized therapy session on the House floor last Thursday to a tearful breakdown by Rep. Jamie Raskin last night.
The question is why the need for an encore performance with a second Trump impeachment trial? Opinions range from downright baffled to something a bit more concrete.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a key Trump ally, has said simply, “I have no idea what they think they’re going to accomplish. The next election is in ‘22 and doesn’t involve Trump. What they’re doing is wasting their time.”
Brit Hume, a Fox News contributor feels the impeachment is being done more as a “political undertaking.”
“This particular impeachment seems especially half-baked to me, in the sense the House acted in desperate haste to try to get it under the wire before the president had actually left the office, and it’s a single count.”
Michael Goodwin, a writer for the New York Post believes the aim of impeachment for Democrats is voter suppression. He had this to say.
“To say they hope for partisan advantage is obvious because nothing unites their party like hating Trump. It’s the glue that holds them together and prevents the factions from breaking into civil war.
That makes Biden the chief beneficiary and explains why, despite his calls for national unity, he gave his approval to the unprecedented trial of his predecessor. If it weren’t for the endless flogging of Trump, his left-wingers would be fighting with the far-left wingers over which socialist programs to ram through now and how many dimes they can wring from taxpayers.
But Dems also perceive another, longer range advantage in trying both Trump and Americans’ patience. For at its heart, the second Trump impeachment trial is exactly like the first in that both aimed at voter suppression.”
Despite the handwringing and the tears, Democrats have tipped their hands and let the rest of us know that they are afraid of Trump and what he can do in 2024. They are going after someone they themselves, not the voters, do not want to see voted for again.
“Having beaten him once, you might think the Dems would no longer be afraid of Trump. But they are, which is why they are desperate to keep him off the 2024 ballot. They probably won’t succeed but their endless effort to find a mechanism reveals their fear.”
Goodwin claims that polls show the majority of the 74.2 million voters who backed Trump in 2020 would probably do so again in 2024. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others are furious with Trump, but they can read the polls, too.
This is an important fact when you consider that even with the fall out of January 6, Trump’s supporters are still sticking by him. The impeachment trial is making his supporters angrier than ever. Their outrage is something Trump will be able to capitalize on going forward.
“You have more than 74 million voters who supported President Trump despite everything – and given the election mess, the number could easily be significantly higher. The truth is tens of millions of Americans are deeply alienated and angry.”
Acquittal is likely, but the impeachment trial will test the nation’s attitude toward Trump’s brand of presidential power, the Democrats’ resolve in pursuing him, and the loyalty of Trump’s Republican allies defending him.
As the curtain goes down on the impeachment trial road show, there is the possibility the divide in our country will widen permanently. With an acquittal, there is an almost inevitable political retribution to come from Trump, perhaps in the form of a third party. But as Trump decides what his next steps will be, another trap may be in the making.
Up to now, Trump has been uncharacteristically silent. Without a social platform he cannot tweet. He’s been avoiding interviews.
One of his next logical – and necessary – steps is his finding a social media platform of his own to get his message out there. Good news for him but for others, not so much.
“If it comes to fruition, it will be a much needed (and welcomed) addition to the social media sphere and will put a serious dent into the U.S. business segments of Twitter and/or Facebook.”
For the Democrats, their impeachment trial is a trap of their own making and is one that carries consequences. One of those consequences is the likely acquittal for Donald Trump – and retribution that is sure to come.
For that, Democrats should feel very uneasy.
