Published 15:26 IST, December 19th 2019
House impeached Donald Trump, can he still run for 2020 Presidential election?
As Donald Trump is just a step away from being convicted of the impeachment charges and face an office removal, a question arises if he can be re-elected.
As US President Donald Trump is just a step away from being convicted of the impeachment charges and face an office removal, a question has arisen if he can be re-elected in 2020. The answer depends on the decision which will be taken by the Republican-led House-Senate next month. On December 18, the US House voted 230 to 197 to impeach Trump of 'abuse of power' and 229 to 198 for the second charge of 'obstruction of Congress'. This made him only the third President to be impeached from the office after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
The Senate can either just convict the official holding the office or disqualify them from holding the public offices in the future. If the Senate, which sits as a High Court in the impeachment proceedings decides to convict Trump just this time, then he can run as the Presidential candidate for 2020. However, after Congress announced US President's impeachment, White House called the process a 'shame' and said it is 'confident' that the Senate will 'restore regular order, fairness' by exonerating him.
“Today marks the culmination in the House of one of the most shameful political episodes in the history of our nation. Without receiving a single Republican vote, and without providing any proof of wrongdoing, Democrats pushed illegitimate articles of impeachment against the president through the House of Representatives,” White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
Trump tells he is 'having a good time'
Trump was impeached in the Democrat-led House of Representatives at the same time he was addressing a campaign rally in Michigan. The historic vote in Congress took place while Trump was speaking to nearly 7,000 of his supporters and said that he is 'not worried'. The defiant US President goes on to say that 'I don't know about you, but I'm having a good time'. It has been evident with Trump's constant Twitter Spree and his blistering letter to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the US President is angry with the 'Do Nothing Democrats'.
Even during his Christmas-themed rally miles away in Michigan, Trump said that Pelosi should be punished by getting voted the 'hell out of office' and called her 'crazy'. After nearly a marathon of 10-hour debate, the lawmakers voted to impeach Trump for pressuring Ukrainian government to start an investigation which can defeat his biggest obstacle to re-election in 2020, Joe Biden. However, since it might seem a big deal for the Democrats, who celebrated their victory in 'defending democracy', the US President was seen in a happy place while the crowd chanted 'four more years'.
Updated 15:39 IST, December 19th 2019