Trump acquittal: Biden calls for vigilance to defend 'fragile democracy'
US President Joe Biden has called on Americans to defend democracy after his predecessor Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate, saying “democracy is fragile.”
Trump, who was impeached by the House in his final days in office on one charge of “incitement of insurrection” of the siege on the US Capitol, was the first US president to be impeached twice and now is the first president to have been acquitted twice.
On Saturday, the Democratic-held Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump for the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol but he was ultimately acquitted as the impeachment effort failed to gain two thirds of the votes.
Biden, a Democrat, issued a statement on Saturday night, saying the substance of the charge against Trump over the Capitol riot, which left five people dead, was not in dispute.
“Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate minority leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a ‘disgraceful dereliction of duty’ and ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking’ the violence unleashed on the Capitol,” the president said.
“This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”
Meanwhile, Trump welcomed his acquittal, saying his political movement “to Make America Great Again has only just begun.”
The businessman-turned-politician called the trial “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our nation.”
The former president continues to hold a grip on the Republican Party and has considered running for office again in 2024.
A number of Republicans, however, have distanced themselves from Trump including former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who said Republicans were wrong for backing his campaign to reverse the election results.
On speculation whether Trump will seek the presidency in 2024, Haley told Politico magazine, "I don't think he can," adding, "He's fallen so far."
Also, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Trump’s actions since losing the election have nullified his future viability as a presidential nominee.
"After the American public sees the full story laid out here ... I don't see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again," Murkowski said.
Other Republicans have said privately they agreed with that assessment.
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