OK, the year is young. But Chuck Schumer’s classic moment on the Senate floor today promises to be a contender. First, the entertainment:
SCHUMER: “Senators will have to decide if Donald John Trump incited the erection.” pic.twitter.com/zL4UDs9UbK
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 22, 2021
I will say that Trump has incited something of the sort in Democrats for the last four years.
The more serious point here is that the Democrats are determined to conduct a Senate “trial” of the former president. This is, I think, unconstitutional, as Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution clearly contemplates that only sitting office-holders can be impeached. Beyond that, this second impeachment of Donald Trump is pointless and stupid.
Chuck Schumer has said that Trump must be convicted to ensure that he will never again serve as president. Seriously? The Democrats actually believe that in four years, Trump will run again for president, secure the Republican nomination, and win the election? And they think impeachment is the way to prevent this from happening?
Either Schumer and his colleagues are delusional, or this is a silly excuse for what is in fact a purely political exercise. I opt for the latter explanation. Normally, an incoming administration wants attention focused on its own plans and priorities. Why waste time and energy attacking the last guy who held the office? The less said about him the better.
But these are not normal times. The last person the Democrats want to call attention to is Joe Biden. Weirdly, but at the same time understandably, they would rather deflect attention from their own newly-elected president. For four years, they have been obsessed with hate for Donald J. Trump, and they will ride that horse as far as it will take them. Only when all Trump-hate opportunities have been exhausted will they turn to the more difficult business of governing.
