The impeachment of Donald Trump is an opportunity for America, but it also poses great dangers. In the worst case, there is a risk of excesses of violence that the country has never seen before.
Bastian Brauns reports from Washington
What became known in New York on Thursday evening is unique in the more than 200-year history of the United States of America. Donald Trump is the first time a former US President has been officially impeached.
The individual charges are not yet public. But there should be a total of 34, which would be more than previously expected. They could go beyond the case of hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Aside from the New York case, Trump faces other charges that are likely to weigh much more heavily.
But with this unique event – an ex-US President in the dock – a legal, and thus also a political precedent is created. In the end, the country could be more deadlocked and divided than ever. In the worst case, violence ensues. In the best-case scenario, years of farce could finally come to an end. Yes, there would even be a chance for a new beginning that would lead to more social peace.
The danger behind the cult
But Donald Trump and the seemingly indestructible cult surrounding his person stand in the way of this. His supporters could go to further extremes and the mere indictment could lead to major social upheavals. But what may only happen if Donald Trump is even convicted in the end?
A quick look is enough to understand such a scenario, for example at the news program of the broadcaster Fox News, which has the widest reach. There moderators and experts warn that righteous US citizens in cities ruled by Democrats are no longer protected from the arbitrariness of a politicized judiciary.
The mood against the political instrumentalization of the judiciary by the Democrats is not only fueled by the media, but also by almost all high-ranking Republicans. Potential presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, even claims he would not help extradite Trump to New York law enforcement in his state.
If DeSantis really refused this support, it would be a violation of the US Constitution. But he seems to ignore that as long as he thinks he can gain political points with it. Many other Republicans probably don’t care how dangerous their attacks on their own justice system are.
A looming civil war
It’s a risky game in a country where firearms are readily available in many places. In a country where people think they can no longer trust the judiciary, there is only one anarchic way out: vigilantism.
The whole world was able to observe what can happen on January 6, 2021, when radicalized Americans stormed the Capitol, believing that millions of voters had been rigged. Death and destruction were the terrible consequences. Trump himself fueled the fear of such conditions when he wrote a few days ago that it was irresponsible for the New York public prosecutor’s office to accept “death and destruction” again with an indictment against him.
To speak of some kind of impending American civil war is hopefully too apocalyptic. There are scientists who warn against it. However, many of those politicians who are now professing loyalty to Trump are secretly waiting for this historic New York trial to mark the beginning of the end of Trump’s political ambitions. Officially sticking by him should, in case of doubt, secure the votes of Trump supporters if they run for office. Otherwise they would be seen as traitors.
The firing has only just begun
The danger of this legal and political precedent is that Donald Trump will not stop lighting the fire. On the contrary: He’s only really getting started now. When the first rumors of his imminent indictment surfaced in New York a few days ago, he, his clan and his campaign team took the opportunity to collect campaign donations. It should be financial grants for a “final battle” against Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Donald Trump is scheduled to come to New York next week to give his fingerprints and have his face photographed in the typical “Mugshot” look. It could be the start of a devastating election campaign unlike anything the United States has seen before. Trump and his team will do everything to make the alleged “witch hunt” against him the core of his message: Trump as the supposed martyr for saving the country.
A nation on the brink Trump has been summoning for months. For his own political survival, he is willing to drag the country into this very abyss. It is to the credit of the American law enforcement authorities that they were not intimidated by this deeply autocratic and highly dangerous poker game for social peace. They, too, are taking a great risk with their indictment. But if democracy is to survive in the USA, they have no choice but to enforce the law – even against a former president.
