Donald Trump is already going to lose his position as President of the United States regardless of Congress' response to Trump encouraging the riot. Biden's inauguration is in less than two weeks. For some people, two weeks does not seem like a long time. But as we've seen from the Trump Administration, a lot can happen over the course of a single week, let alone two. Since before the 2020 Election gained momentum, Trump already attempted to illegally seize the election by autocratic means. In September 2019, news broke that Trump made a phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatening to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine unless Zelensky investigated Hunter Biden, son of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden, for suspicious dealings. This was clearly another attempt to obtain discrediting information on his Democratic opponent. This would be the reason Democrats impeached him later in December, but the Senate, along party lines, acquitted him. During the election, Trump asserted numerous false allegations about the election, most primarily that mail-in voting would lead to voter fraud. The claims became so notorious, that Twitter finally started fact-checking Trump. Then after the election, when Biden became the victor, he unleashed numerous lawsuits that immediately became disputed. Even though it was unlikely that Trump would manage to overturn the election, his apparent coup to overturn a fair election went largely unnoticed. In fact, Republicans pushed those fraudulent claims. Once it became apparent that Trump could not let the Supreme Court decide the election for him, nor Congress, he turned to his supporters to protest their vote. In a rally, he vocally called for his supporters to let their voices be heard by whatever means necessary, essentially encouraging them to storm the capitol to stage a coup with his supporters. While there have been US presidents in the past that refused to concede the election to a candidate they lost, they never vocally called for a riot, or even a protest for that matter, to dispute a free and fair election. Since Trump lost the election, it has become apparent his mind is fragile and willing to do anything to stay in power by whatever means no matter what the legal boundaries. He has demonstrated autocratic leadership in a nation that was founded on representative democratic values. And the fact that he has never been held accountable for his consequences, may set a precedent for future presidents that might devolve into questionable behavior. If a leader of one branch of government incites a riot against another branch and is not held accountable, that might encourage another president in the future to do something similar if accountability will not be employed. Trump must be impeached for encouraging a riot against the capitol because it demonstrates his mind is too unhinged to demonstrate the qualifications that are required to the president. And an unhinged mind can only do so much in just a few days. SOURCES: Editors, History com. “President Donald Trump Impeached.” HISTORY, history.com/this-day-in-history/president-trump-impeached-house-of-representatives. Fandos, Nicholas. “How to Impeach a President in 12 Days: Here’s What It Would Take.” The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/impeachment-president-trump-capitol.html. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin. “Trump Must Be Held Accountable.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-importance-of-holding-trump-accountable-for-the-capitol-hill-insurrection.

Personally, I feel impeachment is too light of a punishment. Whether you approach politics from a Republican, Democratic or neither of these political perspectives, I think it is difficult for anybody to condone the actions of the former president and his orchestration of an attack on US democracy. Mr Trump’s actions are not only egregious and impeachable, but are demonstrative of his self-obsession and his thirst for power. In a nation that prides itself upon the voice of the people, this is arguably one of the largest offences against the freedom of the American individual. How can a former leader remain in office, in any capacity? When he so resolutely disregards the democratic process of his country in what can be arguably described as a temper tantrum. In doing so, he inadvertently has inspired supporters into televised violence and intimidation. When called upon by the President Elect, Joe Biden, he still was incapable of accepting the democratic process as ‘Mr Trump repeated his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud’ as he half-heartedly called off protestors ‘- he did not apologise. Alternatively, he lashed out at his critics and cast himself as a victim’ (McKelvey, 2021). Arguably, his actions should be considered an act of terrorism. In the Miriam-Webster dictionary, terrorism is defined as ‘the unlawful use or threat of violence especially against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion’ (Definition of TERRORISM, 2021), something that forms a plausible definition of Mr Trump’s most recent actions. It prompts the question of whether the criminality of his involvement would have been treated otherwise if he didn't hold office as the US president and instead was of either a different faith or country. Therefore, I say impeachment is nowhere near enough punishment and instead, the American government should look to prosecute the man who has incited acts of terrorism against his own country.

Wow, Andrew. Some pretty strong opinions here already. And on that note, I have to say that I agree: Donald trump should just be impeached for inciting the Capitol Riot. Also, while I do feel that he should be held accountable for so many other (unnecessary and in some instances unspeakable) acts, I will leave it at him just being impeached. Maybe if it is determined that further action needs to be taken from here (after the impeachment) then that can be done separately. The punishment should fit the crime, right? Lastly, I think one thing that we can all agree on, Donald trump encourages strong emotions (positive, negative, etc.) wherever he goes.