This last week is one that will forever be remembered in American history. From the inauguration of a new president in a time of turmoil unmatched by any other in U.S history to the first time a president has had more impeachment than terms, it’s safe to say it’s been an interesting week in politics. This impeachment of Trump marks the second time he has been impeached in his 4 year term, the first of which came on December 18, 2019, and the second being on January 13, 2021. 

The grounds for the second impeachment is also something that has never before been seen in U.S history, as past presidents have never before been accused of inciting a riot to disrupt the normal proceedings of an election. Unfortunately, this is not out of character for the current US president as he has been claiming since the conclusion of the election that the democratic votes were fraudulent. The claims were taken to heart by his supporters who gathered at the capitol to show their displeasure at what they believed was an invalid election. They were called here by former President Trump who released tweets such as; “You have to go now, we have to have peace.”

These tweets were the main basis of what helped to lead to his impeachment. Democratic leaders who believed they were inappropriate raised their concerns with the former president’s involvement in the riot. The actual grounds for his impeachment were 

“Incitement of Insurrection” and “Spreading false statements”. 

Essentially, this means that Democratic leaders feel he has used his power to incite a raid on the capitol as well as using his following on social media platforms like Twitter to spread statements that have little basis. Some of these tweets include statements such as:

“Stop the vote!” and “I won the election, voter fraud all over the country!”.

This impeachment also comes amid a time of unprecedented division within the United States of America. Only one other time has this sort of thing been seen in U.S History. That time in itself, led to a civil war. However, the inauguration of a new president and the impeachment of a former president promises to guide the country towards a path of unity. 

This second impeachment also means that former President Trump cannot run again in 2024. According to the U.S laws of election, any person of power who is impeached twice or removed from the office cannot hold a public office at any point in the future. This, however, is not exactly the best thing as it has angered conservatives and Trump supporters all over the country and increased the already deep divisions within the country. 

Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate have also expressed their displeasure with the second impeachment. They believe it to be unfair and some have gone as far as to claim an attempted coup by the Democratic Party by saying they filed for his impeachment to hurt the public reputation of Republicans. Colorado representative Lauren Boebert has also taken to Twitter to express her displeasure with the “Unfair grounds for impeachment of President Trump”. She is also one of the members of the house who voted against the impeachment of Trump.

This impeachment is a very historic moment as it marks the 4th time a president has been impeached in US history. Other presidents who were impeached during their time in the office consists of Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021. None of these presidents, however, were removed from office or resigned. Although it’s the fourth time that a president has been impeached during his time in office, it is also the first time that a single president has been impeached twice during his time in office. This is a historic moment for the U.S, as it either marks a turning point towards new beginnings or a tipping point towards a larger and more severe downfall.