Trial will end Trump's future bid for office, even with acquittal: GOP

The Republican lawmakers in the US Senate say the impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump will effectively end any chance of him becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024 even in the case of his acquittal in the Congress.

Several Republican senators said this week’s impeachment trial of Trump would spare them from worrying about Trump rerunning for president in three years and also erode his influence in party politics.

Trump is the first president in US history to have been impeached twice, this time for "incitement of insurrection" over the violent protest march on January 6 on the US Capitol by his supporters when Congress was certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 election. 

Before the Capitol siege, Trump had urged his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

Trump’s defense team previously focused on the legality of the trial, arguing lawmakers have no authority under the Constitution to try a president after he leaves office.

Trump's legal team has strongly denied all the allegations against him, stating that Trump urged the protesters to "stay peaceful" amid the protests of January 6.

During the third day of Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate on Thursday, the impeachment managers played videos where he is inciting his supporters for violence, which led to several Republican senators becoming irate watching the violent videos. 

Videos of Trump encouraging violence played at impeachment trial

One the third day of Trump

Interspersed with the traumatic scenes were clips of Trump ordering his supporters to march to the Capitol, warning them “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” and telling them “we love you; you’re very special” shortly after the attack.

“It just makes you realize what an asshole Donald Trump is," said one GOP senator after watching the House managers' presentation.

The lawmaker suggested that Democrats may ultimately help the GOP by sidelining Trump, saying, "Unwittingly, they are doing us a favor. They're making Donald Trump disqualified to run for president even if he is acquitted.”

Other Republican senators said it would be a good thing if the impeachment trial helps distance the party from Trump and undermine his domination of GOP politics over the past five years.

“I can’t imagine the emotional reaction, the visceral reaction to what we saw today doesn’t have people thinking, ‘This is awful,’ whatever their view is on whether the president ought to be impeached or convicted,” said another GOP senator.

“What would stand out to my colleagues is there was no rescue, there was nothing that came to put an end to it.”

A third GOP senator maintained that the facts presented in the impeachment trial underscore just how difficult it would be for Trump to portray himself as an electable presidential candidate in 2024.

“I think closing the door on that [Trump] chapter is probably positive overall,” the senator said.

Another Republican senator said that Trump’s power in the party has been dealt a severe blow due to the detailed exposition of his behavior in the run-up to the Capitol attack and his subsequent actions.

“It certainly can’t have been helpful to him to have all this discussed and linked up. In his case, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t run, even if he knew he couldn’t win,” the lawmaker added.

Polls show that the majority of Americans believe the former US president should be convicted, a shift in sentiment compared to his first impeachment trial in 2020.

Poll: Half of Americans say Trump should be convicted in impeachment trial

Half of Americans say Trump should be convicted in a Senate impeachment trial next week over his incitement of a violent march on the Capitol last month, according to a new poll.

A recent poll conducted and released by the CBS News/YouGov on Tuesday showed that 56 percent supported convicting Trump, with 44 percent opposed.

Most Republican senators have dismissed Trump’s second impeachment trial, making it highly unlikely for the upper chamber of Congress to vote to convict.

Most Republican lawmakers have also backed Trump’s position on election fraud.

A two-thirds majority vote would be required for his conviction which would require at least 17 Republican votes if every Democrat votes to convict Trump.

Last month, five Republicans by voting against tabling a motion calling the trial unconstitutional made it certain the Senate will not win the two-thirds vote necessary for conviction.

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