Trump’ impeachment will tarnish his legacy forever: Analysts

While US President Donald Trump will most certainly avoid removal from office, a part of his legacy took shape when he became just the third president in US history to be impeached, according to political experts.

The US House of Representatives formally impeached Trump on Wednesday, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Impeachment begins in the House. If the lower chamber of Congress approves articles of impeachment, a vote is then held in the Senate. A two-thirds majority vote would be needed in the Senate to remove the president from office.

With Republicans in control of the upper chamber of Congress, Trump’s acquittal in a January trial seems certain.

Nonetheless, the impeachment stands as a constitutional rebuke that will stay with Trump even as he tries to minimize its significance and use it to bolster his reelection chances, The Associated Press said in an analysis on Thursday, citing experts and presidential historians.

Trump became the third US president to be impeached

History books will add Trump to the impeachment section that features former presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson.

Clinton was impeached 21 years ago for lying under oath about having a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Johnson was impeached 151 years ago for defying Congress on Reconstruction. Neither Johnson nor Clinton was convicted by the Senate.

In 1974, Richard Nixon resigned during his second term after it became certain he would be impeached and removed from office over the Watergate scandal.

"It'll be impossible to look back at this presidency and not discuss impeachment. It is permanently tied to his record," Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, told the AP.

"Trump now always becomes part of the conversation about misusing presidential power. Ukraine will be his Watergate. Ukraine will be his Lewinsky," Zelizer said,

President Trump impeached over abuse of power, obstruction of US Congress

US President Donald Trump has been impeached over abuse of power after a vote by the US House of Representatives.

House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump in September after the unknown whistle-blower alleged the Republican president pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Democrats are looking into whether Trump abused his power by withholding $391 million in US security aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Kiev to conduct an investigation that would benefit him politically.

Trump has repeatedly denounced the impeachment inquiry against him as “a hoax”.

Trump’s allies say he is completely aware of the impact that impeachment may have on his legacy and have described him as infuriated over the prospect, taking impeachment more as a personal attack and an attempt to delegitimize his presidency than a judgment on his actions.

US presidential historian Jon Meacham said impeachment will make Trump “the first insurgent incumbent president in American history.”

Despite impeachment, Trump remains defiant

While Clinton apologized for his behavior and Nixon resigned, Trump has remained defiant, sticking to his argument that he had a “perfect” phone call with Ukraine’s president.

At a reelection speech in the state of Michigan that began just minutes after the House began its historic vote, Trump tried to publicly downplay the stain on his record.

“It’s impeachment lite. With Richard Nixon, I could see it as a very dark era,” Trump said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m having a good time. But I also know we have a great group of people behind us in the Republican Party.”

The outcome of next year’s US presidential election may alter how Trump’s impeachment is ultimately remembered.

“Donald Trump is now going to be synonymous with impeachment. There is no way to market it like a badge of honor. It’s a medallion of shame,” said Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian at Rice University.

“But if he wins, the impeachment looks somewhat smaller. It means he defied it and remade the modern Republican Party in his own image and kept them loyal.”

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