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Changing Dynamics: Will GOP Republicans Vote To Convict An Ex-President?
01/15/21 AT 1:29 PM
Whether or not President Trump is convicted in a Senate trial may have as much to do with emotion as facts of the case.
In a whirlwind of changing dynamics, even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled support for impeachment, but that doesn’t mean Republicans would vote to convict once the president leaves office and the emotional rollercoaster has taken new turns.
Many in the upper chamber believe Trump committed an impeachable offense when he incited rally-goers to storm the Capitol, but even in a climate where some find it easier to ditch an ex-president, 17 remains a big number which is how many Republicans it would take to convict.
After the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a “statement today regarding the Senate schedule,” declaring that there isn’t enough time to try Trump before Joe Biden is inaugurated.
Apparently repudiating his supporters who assaulted Congress a week ago, an event that triggered his second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Trump said, “There is never a justification for violence. No excuses, no exceptions: America is a nation of laws.”
“Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice,” he said, before launching into a condemnation of “censorship” following the decision by tech companies to ban his social media accounts.
Trump did not mention the impeachment or specifically acknowledge Biden’s election victory, although he did note the need for a peaceful “transition.”
Trump appeared subdued in the video, a marked contrast from his fiery speeches the week before, which saw him accused of inciting an insurrection and the mob that stormed the Capitol.
McConnell’s burgeoning alienation from Trump, plus the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him, underscored how the GOP’s long, reflexive support and condoning of Trump’s actions was eroding.