Impeachment II: The Rush to Judgment

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

The House’s rush to judgment in impeaching President Trump a second time is one of the most shocking things we’ve seen in a long newspaper life. The lower chamber voted out against the President a count of incitement — without sifting the evidence or calling a single witness. Nor was there any attempt to investigate the President’s intent. The vote went through with 10 Republicans voting with the Democrats.

No sooner had the House spoken than President Trump himself, in a video message from the White House, responded with the kind of statement he could have — and should have — delivered on the day of the attack on the Capitol. He condemned all of the violence, contended it went against his long law-and-order program, and spoke of the steps his administration is taking to ensure a safe transition to the Biden administration.

We have no illusions that the Democrats will credit this. They are bent on destroying Mr. Trump politically, lest he run four years hence. His remarks did offer, though, a glimpse of the calm and unifying voice in which Mr. Trump is capable of speaking. Our own sense is that had he more often used his rhetorical powers along those lines, he might today be getting ready for a second term.

In any event, Speaker Pelosi’s second try at impeachment spells weeks, maybe months, or even years of new acrimony. Only this time it will be emanating from the Democrats, as they seek to torque up the country’s mood for a trial of Mr. Trump in the Senate. They will do so while the big Democratic social media platforms demonize the president and while the left tries to drive Mr. Trump’s defenders from even private sector jobs.

So much for the vows President-elect Biden sketched after the vote in November. That’s when he gave his so-called “unity” speech, in which he bade his countrymen to “give each other a chance.” It’s time, he said, “to put away the harsh rhetoric, to lower the temperature, to see each other again, to listen to each other again.” To make progress, he added, “we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy.”

How the tables have turned. Democrats who temporized in respect of violence during the long protests over policing and racism now cast themselves as allies of the police, while seeking to deplatform their political opponents and drive them from Congress. The president they accuse of precipitating the violence is now the one exhorting his followers to “ease tensions, calm tempers, and help to promote peace in our country.”

And — in a hint of what’s to come — Mr. Trump is seizing the issue of free speech. He did this when he visited the border wall in Texas and again in his video message this evening. He spoke of the “unprecedented assault on free speech in recent days.” He denounced the efforts to “censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens.” He said: “What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another.”

It’s not our purpose here to absolve Mr. Trump of his errors. He is the primary author of his own defeat. Even some of those who defended him during some of the bitterest controversies of his first term fear that he will seek a comeback in 2024. That may be why, in respect of a trial in the Senate, the Republican leader, the masterful Mitch McConnell, is playing his cards so close to his vest. One can see a logic for him to vote either way.

It’s a moment to remember that the Republicans aren’t the only party in turmoil. This was marked the other day by our columnist Ira Stoll. He suggested the big story ahead is the battle between the Biden Democrats and those loyal to Senator Sanders. As Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer try to convict Mr. Trump in the Senate, could the Sanders socialists steal the march and set up a showdown with Mr. Trump in 2024?


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use