Biden’s White House is trying to turn the page Trump
WASHINGTON – The end of the impeachment process of former President Donald Trump opens a new chapter for his successor in the White House.
As President Joe Biden and his team seek to overcome impeachment, the bitterly partisan tone of the process underscores the great challenges that lie ahead as the President and his party seek to advance their agenda and address historic crises.
Biden, who was on the President’s retreat from Camp David when the Senate voted in favor of Trump’s acquittal on Saturday, had acknowledged the Democrats had to blame the former President for the siege of the U.S. Capitol but did not welcome, how he distracted from his agenda.
The process ended with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to condemn Trump, but the 57-43 votes were far from the two-thirds threshold required for condemnation. Whether the seven GOP votes against Trump Biden gave new hope for bipartisan cooperation within Congress remained open.
In a statement, Biden cited those GOP votes in favor of convicting the former president – and Mitch McConnell’s own indictment of Trump’s actions – as evidence that “the substance of the indictment” is that Trump was responsible for inciting violence in the Capitol “not controversial”.
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But he quickly moved on to the work ahead, sounding a piece of unity, and explaining that “this sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile” and that “each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, especially as a guide to defend the truth and defeat the lies. “
“It’s a task that we must take on together. Like the United States of America,” said Biden.
Wishing not to follow the trial live, Biden chose to only briefly comment on the searing images of the uprising that gripped the nation. Although his White House publicly argued that the process did not interfere with their plans, Aides privately feared that a lengthy process could stall the Senate and slow the passage of its massive COVID-19 relief bill. This $ 1.9 trillion proposal is just the first part of a sweeping legislative agenda Biden seeks to adopt in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 480,000 Americans and shook the nation’s economy.
“The # 1 priority for Democrats and the Biden government will be to deliver on the promises made on both the vaccine and economic fronts regarding the pandemic,” said Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin.
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The end of the impeachment process gives the party an opportunity to focus on less divisive and generally more popular topics and policies, such as the coronavirus relief package, which polls have shown has significant support among Americans.
During his campaign, Biden sought not to be defined by Trump and his controversies, instead attempting to contrast politics and competence, a guiding principle that he and his aides have carried over to the White House.
His team kept a steady drumbeat of events throughout the process, including an update on vaccine development and Biden’s first visit to the Pentagon as Commander in Chief. With the trial at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue now over, the White House plans to step up its efforts to put the fight against the pandemic in the spotlight and overcome Trump’s chaos.
Former North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp predicted that in a state like hers, where Trump received 65% of the vote, more progress would now be made to focus on these pressing issues with average voters.
“We have to talk about the economy – get the economy working again and turn the page,” she said to the last administration. “Good politics is good politics. We have to come back to that.”
Democrats have to make a decision on how to deal with Trump going forward. While the end of the impeachment process provides a clear opportunity for the party to focus fully on its own agenda, Trump can also be a powerful political weapon for Democrats, not to mention a big driver for campaign money.
Following Saturday’s vote, American Bridge 21st Century, the Democratic Party’s opposition research arm, issued a statement calling on senators from Ohio and Florida, two states the Democrats are targeting in the 2022 election, to oppose Trump’s condemnation to vote.
“Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio and almost every other Senate Republican have shown allegiance to Donald Trump to the rule of law, the Capitol police officers who protect them every day, and the oaths they swore to uphold the constitution,” said Bradley Beychock, the group’s president, calls the senators “spineless sycophants”.
Even so, Schwerin warned that Trump cannot be the “main focus” of the Democrats.
“We shouldn’t ignore the fact that many of the issues the country is grappling with stem from Trump’s failures, but he shouldn’t be the focus of every fundraising email and press release. We should be happy,” he said said.
Biden plans to keep a full schedule for the coronavirus pandemic in the coming week.
The president will be making his first official domestic trips this week: a television town hall in Wisconsin on Tuesday to speak to coronavirus-affected Americans, and a visit to a Pfizer vaccine facility in Michigan on Thursday.
The White House Legislature was ready to work with the House committees to work out details of the COVID-19 relief bill that Democrats plan to vote on next month.
Still, some within the party are not done with Trump. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a leading progressive advocacy group, issued a petition Saturday night calling on supporters to call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “investigate and prosecute Trump and his entire criminal network for violating the law.”
Biden is likely to continue to have questions about how his Justice Department is handling a number of ongoing federal and criminal investigations into Trump’s company and his conduct as president.
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And his aides will watch out for Trump’s next steps, especially if he calls for discharge and steps up his political activity and even points to a 2024 campaign. It is currently planned to ignore the former president.
Former Democratic Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile warned Trump won’t make it easy, but Democrats must avoid getting sucked back into his orbit.
“I don’t think Donald Trump is going to go away from anyone’s lips anytime soon, and that’s because Donald Trump will always be looking for ways to inject and serve himself,” she said.
“As Donald Trump figures out who to look for next, the Democrats will figure out how to uplift the people and how to protect and help the American people.”
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