Donald Trump is in the eye of the storm. In many ways, he is a maverick president who charted the American state away from tranquility to troubled waters during his term of office. Trump has completed three years of his term and will probably seek re-election in 2020 when his term expires. He is eligible for another term but before he can savor the taste of victory he is embroiled in a mess. The Senate has decided that the impeachment hearings will be televised. This is something that has never happened before and will reverberate far and wide from Washington.
The Guardian has reported that the Democrats aim to prove that Trump's actions warrant impeachment.
Impeachment proceedings
Donald Trump is the third president to face impeachment proceedings in the history of the United States. The investigation into the conduct of Trump about Ukraine has profound and far-reaching implications. The hearing has global implications and at stake is the personal reputation of the president. The question that has to be addressed is to what degree Trump used his power to seek political favors from Ukraine. Regretfully, one has to say that on the face of it the quicksand in which the president finds himself, is perhaps his handiwork.
The hearings will now be televised for home and global audience.
It will bring to the fore whether the US which recently blacklisted some firms for human rights abuse in Sinkiang and the Senate can investigate a president who ignores the charges against him. Big issues are involved and though the president has the support from the Republicans, the impeachment process on television is nothing short of a national tragedy.
Long nightmare
One can recollect that Gerald Ford called the Watergate scandal a "long national nightmare." This led to the ousting pf President Nixon in 1974. The present inquiry is building up similarly though it's possible that with the support of his party the president may just scrape through. In the process, incalculable harm could be done to the sanctity of the role of the US president.
CNN has reported there was a quid pro quo for US military aid.
The Democrats have taken a calculated risk by opting for this inquiry. Perhaps they had no choice as the revelations of the Ukraine revelations became public. Trump may well be saved by his party but the damage would be done and people all over the world will have questions about the US presidency.
Escape
In case Trump escapes he will treat it as a victory and continue in the way he has been carrying on. It's a difficult question but it could affect his run for a second term in office. The American voter is mature and cannot be taken for granted. Historically this is only the third President to face an impeachment inquiry in 243 years. The only way the President can be impeached is if the independents and moderate Republicans side with the Democrats but that appears a long shot.
