‘Deep hatred’: Trump rages as House impeaches him

Donald Trump became the third impeached president in US history after a bitterly divided House of Representatives voted that he abused his power and obstructed Congress. The 73-year-old Trump accused Democrats of waging an “assault on America” as lawmakers delivered impassioned floor speeches for and against impeaching the president. The House, where Democrats hold 233 seats to the Republicans’ 197, voted on two articles of impeachment – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – after debate lasting much of Wednesday (Thursday morning, Hong Kong time). The House passed the abuse of power article of impeachment on a largely party-line 230-197 vote. It then voted 229-198 to impeach Trump for obstruction of Congress. Nancy Pelosi emerges as Donald Trump’s most powerful political adversary The votes set up a January trial in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans hold a 53-47 seat edge, making his removal from office unlikely. Trump, who began Wednesday tweeting his anger at the proceedings, held an evening rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he was itching to vent his anger against rival Democrats. “The Democrats are declaring their deep hatred and disdain for the American voter,” Trump said to boos and cheers. “They’ve been trying to impeach me from day one. They’ve been trying to impeach me from before I ran,” he said. But minutes after the House impeached Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw the process into confusion by refusing to say when or whether she would send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial. At a news conference held immediately after the vote, Pelosi said “we’ll see what happens”. She said that House Democrats could not name impeachment managers - House prosecutors who make the case in a Senate trial - until they know more about how the Senate will conduct a trial. Pelosi made the comments after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected a proposal earlier this week from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to call several witnesses. Facing impeachment, Donald Trump lashes out in rambling, six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi The debate in the House played out over hours but swayed no one, with each side accusing the other of being derelict of duty and failing to heed the constitution, a document often viewed as sacrosanct. One Republican lawmaker said Trump was treated less fairly than Jesus at the crucifixion, while another compared impeachment to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour during World War II. A third denounced the Democrats as “insidious forces that threaten our republic”. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, delivering the closing arguments for his party, said the legacy of House Democrats will be “the most partisan and least credible impeachment in American history”. It is a “case is based on second-hand opinions and hearsay,” he said. “Simply put: they have no grounds for impeachment.” The bitter polarisation in the House is reflected in recent opinion polls. Fifty per cent of the respondents in a Fox News poll said they support impeaching and removing Trump from office. Forty-one per cent opposed impeachment. In a CNN poll, 45 per cent said Trump should be impeached and removed while 47 per cent said he should not. Trump is accused of withholding military assistance to try to force Ukraine to open a corruption probe into one of his 2020 rivals, Democrat Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. The president is also accused of obstructing Congress by refusing to cooperate with the impeachment investigation, barring staff from testifying and holding back documentary evidence. Teflon Trump likes brawling. For him, impeachment is the Olympics Arguably the most polarising US leader in living memory, Trump spent the first part of the day holed up at the White House, sending out tweets reflecting his frustration, anger and predictions of revenge in the 2020 election. “THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!” Trump wrote. “Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing.” Later at his Michigan rally, Trump appeared to be in his element. The crowd laughed at his jokes. They booed when he told them to boo. They cheered at his every boast. “I’d rather be here. These rallies are great,” he told the crowd. “You are inspiring.” “Four more years, four more years,” they chanted. That rally clocked in at two hours and one minute, a record, according to Factbase, a website that tracks the president’s speeches. Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Bloomberg, Associated Press