Donald Trump’s impeachment trial: what the US media is saying
Excerpts from some of the best coverage so far
The US Senate has approved rules for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump following a marathon first day of debates in Washington.
During nearly 13 hours of discussion in the Senate on Tuesday, Democratic prosecutors “sparred with Mr Trump’s lawyers over the process, while Republicans rejected their demands for more witnesses”, the BBC reports.
Trump is only the third president in US history to face an impeachment trial - so how is the American media interpreting this milestone event? Here are excerpts from some of the best commentaries:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
1. Law professor and author Kimberly Wehle for Politico
How Trump has exposed Congress’ self-inflicted weaknesses
“A quarter-century of intensifying partisanship and party-first thinking has brought us to a moment of historic peril in which presidential overreach and congressional deference have combined in ways that seem to affect almost every aspect of the interrelationship of the legislative and executive branches. Impeachment, of course, is foremost among the constitutional friction points the government is confronting, but given the continuing tensions in the Middle East, war powers is easily a close second place. There are at least another four fundamental areas in which Congress’ has failed to vigorously defend its own enumerated powers: emoluments, advice and consent on appointments, budget appropriations, and even the basic power to pass legislation with the force of law. In each case, Congress, either slowly over time or in a sudden collapse, has acted in a way that has redefined a government that increasingly exists only in textbooks.”
2. Columnist Frank Bruni in The New York Times
Let us all now weep for Donald Trump
“He’s always right and yet always wronged. He demands that we marvel at his invincibility even as we tremble at his degradation. He can vanquish any enemy — and his enemies are legion! — but look at how he’s pushed around. Trump takes a textbook oxymoron and gives it presidential form. Behold, at the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp.”
3. Columnist Dana Milbank in The Washington Post
And the White House defence is... well, there isn’t one
“Public pressure on moderate Republican senators had, for the moment, forced [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell to soften a couple of the most egregious trial rules - notably, a plan that would have forced the case to be argued in the middle of the night - but it did nothing to slow McConnell’s pell-mell rush to acquit... Why such a hurry? The answer became apparent as soon as Trump’s lawyers opened their mouths for the first time during the impeachment proceedings. They shouted. They spouted invective. They launched personal attacks against the impeachment managers. But they offered virtually nothing in defence of the president’s conduct, nor anything but a passing reference to Ukraine.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
4. Former Republican congressman Bob Barr on MSN News
The impeachment trial briefs are in, and the winner is…
“‘Abuse of Power’ is not a crime, and ‘Obstruction of Congress’ is not a crime. No amount of wordsmithing by the House managers can shoehorn either of these ‘offences’ into any criminal statute. Notwithstanding former president Clinton’s valiant but unsuccessful effort to escape impeachment in 1998 by arguing ‘it all depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is’, what is written in the Constitution of the United States means what it says. Lawyers may argue about whether a particular crime constitutes a ‘high’ crime (the House decided in 1998 that perjury and obstruction of justice by a sitting president did meet that criteria). But they never should be permitted to prevail in arguing that behaviour which is not a crime is a crime in order to rid themselves of a president they do not like.”
5. Political commentator Scott Jennings on CNN
The debate over impeachment rules reveals Democrats’ hypocrisy
“Former national security advisor John Bolton was never subpoenaed in the House, despite Democrats claiming to want his testimony; Democrats there opted not to use the courts to compel witnesses over which the Trump administration had claimed executive privilege. For some reason, though, [House Intelligence Committee chair and impeachment manager Adam] Schiff thinks it is the Senate’s job to do his job for him. Further, the House is still in session! If House Democrats wanted to subpoena or pursue administration witnesses, they could meet tomorrow and do that instead of demanding that Republican Senators - who never thought Trump should have been impeached in the first place - join their partisan crusade.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 27, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - natural gas, fundraising with Ted Cruz, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Justices set to punt on Trump immunity case
Speed Read Conservative justices signaled support for Trump's protection from criminal charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Speed Read The state charged Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in 2020 election interference case
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
National Enquirer helped Trump in 2016, ex-boss says
Speed Read David Pecker says the tabloid published fabricated content to hurt Trump's rivals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sitting in judgment on Trump
Opinion Who'd want to be on this jury?
By Susan Caskie Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published