Well America, it happened. In reality, the buzz has been there since his inauguration. Congressman Al Green of Texas has introduced Articles of Impeachment several times. But let’s be clear about one thing, this was never a  “witch hunt” or a liberal quest to undermine the president. This stemmed from concern. From the jump, Trump was clouded in controversy over potential illegal relationships with foreign countries. What some must realize is that these concerns become more and more justified with each day that passes. Trump’s requests of Ukraine and China only show a personality that adds credibility to the Russia allegations from 2017. 

Regardless, it’s hard to ignore the futility of an impeachment proceeding when conviction is next to impossible. Nine Democratic members of the House of Representatives, among them the Lowcountry’s own Joe Cunningham, have yet to endorse an impeachment inquiry regarding the president. Despite the likelihood that the remaining 226 Democrats in the House as well as Independent Justin Amash (MI-3) and a handful of Republicans will support impeachment of the president; there is next to know chance the 53% Republican Senate will convict Trump. This means that President Trump will very likely serve the remainder of his term over the next fifteen months.

Yet as Americans, the likely result should not discourage our efforts for justice. There are now a minimum of two and perhaps up to a handful of whistle-blowers helping to expose possible corruption on the part of Trump. A slew of outlets say he has attempted to withhold aid from Ukraine to obtain secrets on former VP Joe Biden, a potential opponent in next year’s election. Likewise, Trump has too sought similar intel from China just in the past week despite the ongoing investigation. Such an idea is far beyond a simple request of a foreign power. It is a blatant attempt to manipulate a foreign power, which is offense number one. Secondly, he is using said foreign power to obtain dirt on a political rival. Furthermore, the New York Times has a source from a state department official claiming that the President has indeed attempted to leverage aid for his own political gain on multiple occasions. 

In response to the claims of his wrongdoing on this particular occasion, Trump released “transcripts” of his call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. The only problem is the document itself reveals it is by all means “not a verbatim transcript.” Now of course some things must remain classified, but not this. This is a national concern. No. The national concern. If you read the document here, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/25/us/politics/trump-ukraine-transcript.html?mtrref=www.google.com&assetType=REGIWALL or here if you would rather: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-ukraine-call-transcript-read-the-document, you would notice how the document reads. It has the clear tilt of a re-construction by the Trump Administration. Furthermore, the president has repeatedly blamed “the Bidens” for involvement in Ukraine, when Hunter Biden had pure business interests in the country unrelated to his father. But if Trump wants to play the child card, fine. Between Invaka’s business in Europe and the younger Donald’s dealings with almost every world power, Trump would be crushed. So before you try to kick Joe Biden out of the election, consider the man in the White House and how questionable his businesses, behaviors, and, of course, speech make us look as a country.

Regardless, I cannot stress this enough, we need stability. Whether it’s making an adjustment in how the current administration operates, adding credibility and transparency to their arsenal, or making a change at the top. This is not what we need as a country. We look weak to our allies and foes alike, and the solution to that is not threatening others or holding out on our own people. Likewise, US leadership needs to be tapped into issues of world concern, such as terrorism, threats on democracy, and the deterioration of our planet. Instead of trying to win everything, let’s try helping others and boosting morale as well as bettering measurables, like stimulating the world economy and the decreasing mass shootings.

Best of luck America!