When President Trump was acquitted on Feb. 5, I wasn’t surprised. In politics, accountability is turning into more of an option rather than a necessity. As Republicans continue to back up this presidential bully, I can only laugh through my pain because these were the same Republicans who impeached former President Clinton for “high crimes and misdemeanors” for having inappropriate relations with his secretary, Monica Lewinsky.  

But hey! It’s totally fine. When researching exactly what Trump was being impeached for, I read BBC’s article “Trump Impeachment: A very simple guide” and was mostly just disappointed in those defending Trump’s innocence, as evidence proves this impeachment trial was based around much more scandalous accusations than an unfortunate love affair. Evidence proves that “a rough transcript of the call revealed that Mr. Trump had urged [Ukrainan] President Zelensky to investigate discredited allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden” and that “the call came shortly after Mr. Trump had blocked the release of millions of dollars in the US military aid to Ukraine.” Denying a country necessary military aid to force a foreign government to interfere with opposing political presidential candidates through blackmail seems…unbelievably irresponsible. 

The article “Republicans Block Impeachment Witnesses, Clearing Path for Trump Acquittal,” published by The New York Times reveals some of the Republican senators’ opinions about the trial. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said, “Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a president from office. I will not vote to remove the president because doing so would inflict extraordinary and potentially irreparable damage to our already divided nation.” While I understand our country is very divided in regards to our political views, I believe that when admitting that the president’s actions were wrong and impeachable, that there must be accountability and follow-through on both sides of the political aisles. If due process no longer holds meaning for the highest office of our nation, it portends disaster for a functioning democratic republic. If high officials aren’t held to some standard of decency, what trust can Americans place in their government? 

So who are the supporters that enable President Trump’s loud and aggressive voice in politics? Comedian Jordan Klepper attended a Trump rally in Iowa and discovered some very perturbing views held by the orange man’s supporters. When interviewing one woman, she said “You can tell [Trump] hasn’t done anything wrong, just by his demeanor. I mean, he would be trying to hide things.” When Klepper bluntly pointed out that Trump had been actively blocking witnesses and refusing to hand over documents to Congress, the woman said, “ I don’t care.” He also interviewed a man claiming that John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor who once worked under the Trump administration was a “liar,” and Klepper said “There should be a system set up where he takes an oath and under oath, he tells the truth, otherwise he’s punished. And maybe there’s a judge who’s put in charge, like the highest judge in the land, appointed by a Republican, and then we can all hear what he has to say.” And of course, the supporter agreed that this magical system should be put in place. But it’s not a fantasy system, it already exists and it’s called due process. The American government champions hypocritical ideals of justice while the most powerful man in the nation routinely circumvents any semblance of retribution for his transgressions. The ignorance is beyond painful. Are we witnessing the end of our beloved democracy?