Impeachment is a Mistake
On the perils of convicting Donald Trump after he has already receded from power
A growing chorus of politicians from both parties and pundits from across the political spectrum are calling for President Trump to be convicted following his impeachment for encouraging riots that engulfed the U.S. Capitol in early January.
But a quick rush to an emotionally satisfying outcome, one that feels an awful lot like justice, and may even be just but might be unlikely to work out to the benefit of the country, is an ever-present temptation.
This is a recurring theme in American political history: we are at our most vulnerable immediately following catastrophic episodes like January 6. We don’t even need to leave this century to find examples — consider the frenzied rush to embroil ourselves in Iraq, or the eagerness with which we embraced a policy as far-reaching as the PATRIOT Act. We — and the world — are still feeling the consequences of those actions to this day.
When all the drums beat for war, it’s worth reflecting on what that war could bring.
This isn’t to say that Donald Trump is innocent. But we need to reckon with the reality that convicting him now — a deposed, weakened, technologically defenestrated former president, an electrifying personality…
