Hey Donald Trump, please proceed!
After his entire newly hired impeachment trial legal team quit over the weekend, Donald Trump has hastily announced that he’s hired yet another new legal team. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether this new team makes it all the way to the start of the trial next week.
Notably, multiple major media outlets reported that Trump’s lawyers quit because he wanted them to spend the impeachment trial arguing phony conspiracy theories about how he secretly won the 2020 election, and they weren’t willing to do it. It’s not yet clear if Trump’s new lawyers are going to be willing to push these conspiracy theories. But if Trump decides to go that route, he’ll merely be helping to finish himself off.
While a conviction would be nice, that’s not really what this impeachment trial is about. It’s an opportunity to drive home the message to the public that Trump really did incite the Capitol terrorist attack, and that it was part of a larger failed crime spree centered around trying to steal the election. It’ll drive Trump’s approval rating even lower, and it’ll drive up public demand for Trump’s criminal prosecution – which is what will really keep him from being able to make some kind of unlikely comeback in 2024.
If Trump decides to have his lawyers spend the impeachment trial pushing election conspiracy theories, this has to be seen as a victory for those who want to see Trump finished off. Such nonsense will only hurt Trump’s approval rating and remind everyone of his guilt. Instead of fretting over the notion that Trump might turn his trial into a circus, we should simply tell him to “please proceed.”
