INDIANAPOLIS — President Donald Trump made history Wednesday, becoming the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.
“That’ll probably be the first line of his obituary,” said Ted Frantz, a history professor at University of Indianapolis.
Frantz believes the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol following the president’s “Save America Rally” last week will be tied to Trump’s legacy in the history books.
“He won’t be one of the forgotten presidents. He’s polarizing now, he’ll be polarizing then, but he’s not going to fade into obscurity,” Frantz said.
And with an expected impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate next, Frantz says Republicans will have to decide how much of that legacy they want tied to their party from here on out.
“It is the one opportunity that I see, most real opportunity for Republicans who were 'Never Trumpers' or who have become 'Never Trumpers' in the last week to make that clean break and say ‘This element is bad for our party, maybe bad for our country, but we know it’s bad for our party, let’s end this,’” Frantz explained.
How those senators will vote isn’t certain. At least 17 of them would have to join Democrats in voting to convict to reach the required two-thirds majority vote to convict.
“As of yet still, those on the Republican side don’t feel as confident discussing that openly,” said Frantz.
Were a conviction to happen, the Senate could consider other matters, including whether Trump be stripped of his pension and travel funds after his time in office. The biggest question they could have to decide is, if convicted, should Trump be allowed to run again for federal office. A simple majority vote in the Senate would decide those questions.