So the former President was acquitted but who was really responsible?

Credits: John Cameron / Unsplash

I’m sure that you’ve heard the news and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it. I was musing on the news that the 45th President of USA, Mr. Donald Trump, was acquitted from impeachment because of a lack of two-thirds majority required to convict him. Were you happy for him or, like the majority of people, angry with the constitutional process?

The 45th President

There were three quarters regarding the 45th President: one quarter believed that Donald Trump is evil, racist, homophobic, and the (WOATs) worst-of-all-times President; another believed that he was bold, one who could stand up to anyone and one President who was needed for America; yet another quarter were clueless and could care less. Which quarter did you reside in?

We all knew that Donald Trump was impeached twice; once in 2019 while in office for “abuse of power and obstruction of justice”, and recently on January 13, 2021 for insurrection. This was after leaving the office of the President of the USA. This second impeachment was right in the middle of two critical events in the US; that is, exactly a week both before the swearing-in of new President, Joe Biden and after the insurrection. The second impeachment was strategically time-slated and makes Donald Trump the first US President ever to be impeached twice.

Again, like you know, the impeachment proceedings commenced on February 9th and ended with Donald Trump’s acquittal on February 13, 2021.

Did you move quarters after the acquittal or did you love your quarters more? Why?

Personally, I think both impeachments were merely political maneuverings that were unnecessary. I would have been both surprised and disappointed if the outcome of the second impeachment had passed. Why? I’m glad you asked.

1. I watched both sessions pre-impeachment (to decide if it was constitutional to proceed) and the impeachment hearing itself. Both sides made compelling arguments for and against; some more emotional and convincing than others, that could move the easily-swayed to either side.
2. It would have contradicted the new President’s call for unity.
3. It would have lifted the Congress higher and as the optimal seating of the US power rather than the constitutionally-shared power among the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.

. . .

Undoubtedly , there are consequences when a President is convicted of an impeachment. One of such is that he would have been barred from the GOP from ever running for office again. Another is that he would have been stripped of all benefits and privileges accorded to former Presidents. Read more here.

It is the latter that irks me.

It is a tremendous service of the highest order to be the President of the USA of which there are equally prestigious perks, honors, and most times sleepless nights as well as reliving the saying “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Not all countries can boast of these perks. To have those perks removed as a result of the actions of some folks, in my opinion, would have been extremely unfair.

Now let’s talk about the real people who committed the insurrection.

Who was really responsible for the Insurrection?

One question we were often asked as children was “if someone asked you to put your hands in a blazing fire, would you?” Another was “if someone asked you to jump from the rooftop of a skyscraper, would you?” It didn’t mean that anyone would indeed say such things, but it was a learning statement for kids to think before they commit any act. By the time you’ve heard those statements repeatedly for years, you wise up knowing that if you erred, you cannot be exonerated telling your parents or teachers or any elder that someone made you do it. Smart kids would normally reply that you show them first what you were asking them to do aka learning by example!

My people, let’s not blame Donald Trump. It’s a free country where the Constitution upholds freedom of speech. The President, oh excuse me, the former President was free to open his mouth and freely utter anything he wants. The people we saw on the television, aired globally, were indeed adults and not children. Several could have been parents too. They chose to act without thinking. So I hope that Congress rightly goes after and prosecute the culprits we all saw breaking in, vandalizing government properties, and putting government officials’ lives in jeopardy, including any insiders who connived or collaborated with them.

I didn’t really believe that the former President’s legal team did a great job, but I am glad that Donald Trump was acquitted.

I hope that we all learned some lessons from it all. That we need to:

1. Think before we vote going forward
2. Think before we act foolishly based on someone else’s words or actions to us
3. That Congress would think before wasting government funds conducting a wild goose chase.
4. That Donald Trump would also now realize that no one is above the law and hopefully, should he choose to run in 2024 , if allowed, will dignifiedly act as a man of honor worthy to represent the USA, including would have learned to be a unifying leader and not a divisive one.

I ask again, were you angry or glad that Donald Trump was acquitted – please no partisan sentiments. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

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