With Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings in full effect, 2020 will be an interesting election year. He is currently being impeached on the following counts: obstruction of justice and abuse of power. The details get more complicated, however, as Trump’s actions are debatable as being impeachable offenses. The charge of abuse of power is based on Trump’s alleged interaction with the Ukraine to guarantee his reelection, by using bribes in the form of military protection to the country as long as Ukrainian officials condemn Joe Biden, a frontrunner for the 2020 election who is projected to beat him if he were nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. Trump’s alleged obstruction of justice was during the first impeachment hearings that occurred last year, because he did not allow any White House officials to testify. This charge was dropped, and he is no longer having any action taken against him for this.
For the case against Trump, the evidence is plentiful. There are clear, documentable instances when Trump abused his power. Trump attempted to manipulate the 2020 election, and this is in clear opposition to the oath that he took when he was inaugurated into the highest office in the United States of America. He endangered the sanctity of the democracy of the free world with his actions, and caused a national security threat by involving foreign member states in a domestic election. As far as obstruction of justice, Trump should be held accountable for firing a large amount of his staff to silence them during an impeachment trial. However, since this charge has been dropped, it is a nonissue.
The case for Trump is much more difficult to argue, because there is so much evidence against him in accordance with these charges. The most valid argument, and the one that Trump’s lawyers insist on being true, is that the impeachment trial is an invalid “witch hunt” to demonize the President and skew the upcoming election to reinstate a Democratic majority. This argument is mostly due to the timing of the accusations, and Trump’s lawyers also adamantly believe that these charges do not fit the the standard of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors”, which is necessary for impeachment.
Trump’s actions have threatened American democracy, trust in government, and transparency in the White House. His behavior is beyond the scope of normal political missteps, and goes to an extreme which, in my opinion, warrants impeachment. Beyond the fact that the Trump administration is a despotic nightmare and he has undoubtedly abused his power and obstructed justice, the proof is damning. There are recordings of the conversations between Trump and Ukrainian officials, and it is time for a change. Impeachment is the only way to make a statement to America and the rest of the world that what he is doing is wrong and neofascism is condemnable, no matter the office.