The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump ended abruptly Saturday afternoon with a 57-43 vote to acquit the former president of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Seven GOP senators crossed over and voted with every Democrat to convict him. Yet impeachment rules require a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, so Trump’s second impeachment trial ended, like his first, with the former president claiming victory.
Constitutional law scholar John Finn takes a step back from the heat of the trial and asks what the acquittal means for American democracy. His verdict: The U.S. is in a state of “constitutional rot” – and more civic education is needed.
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The impeachment trial shows American democracy is in bad shape.
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John E. Finn, Wesleyan University
The vote to acquit former President Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol is a symptom of the dramatic decline of the US constitutional system, which is being eroded from within.
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Politics + Society
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Daniel Palazzolo, University of Richmond
Politicians say they want it, but how often, and under what circumstances, does bipartisanship really happen?
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Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware; Garret Martin, American University School of International Service; Jennifer M. Piscopo, Occidental College; Joyce Mao, Middlebury; Julius A. Amin, University of Dayton
Biden wants to restore US global leadership after four years of Trump's isolationism and antagonism. These are some of the challenges and opportunities he'll face, from China to Latin America.
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Megan Goldman-Petri, New York University
The domed neoclassical Capitol building was inspired by European cathedrals and the Roman Pantheon – shrines to imperial power, not rule by and for the people.
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Mark Canada, Indiana University
Benjamin Franklin spoke and wrote in ways that, if taken up now, could begin to erode the polarization of the current era.
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