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Trump gets an unwelcome surprise
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(CNN)It seemed perfect. Everything was going Donald Trump's way. Republican senators had refused to allow witnesses in his impeachment trial. They were expected to form a solid red line of defense. And the administration was even hoping some vulnerable Democrats might buck their party and vote to acquit the President.
Then came the stunner: Mitt Romney broke with his fellow Republicans and voted for Trump's removal from office. "He explained his decision in moving moral, ethical and patriotic terms," wrote Frida Ghitis. "Judging the President, he said, was 'the most difficult decision I ever faced.' But the judgment of history weighed heavily. He faced his responsibility with modesty and gravity...he found that 'what the President did was wrong, grievously wrong.'"
Romney thus became the first senator in American history to vote for removal of a president of his own party. And Democratic senator Doug Jones, who faces an uphill battle to retain his seat in strongly pro-Trump Alabama, also voted to remove Trump. "With their integrity, Romney and Jones defined themselves for future generations," Ghitis wrote.
Trump was of course acquitted -- and had reason to celebrate, which he did on Thursday. But for the most part, it was not a smiling Trump the nation saw. He was furious with Romney. And with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And still with the FBI director he fired, James Comey.
"Trump recapped the many investigations against him over the last three years and directed his vitriol at those who dared oppose him," wrote Michael D'Antonio. "Instead of taking even a small measure of responsibility for a crisis that kicked off after he tried to enlist foreign election help in exchange for congressionally approved military aid for an ally at war, Trump demonstrated the pure essence of his narcissism and self-pity." The President called his antagonists "evil and sick," D'Antonio noted.
"Donald Trump is not chastened. He's triumphant," observed David Axelrod. "He got caught red-handed and beat the rap, backed up by the base he long ago predicted would stick with him even if he committed a homicide on Fifth Avenue." (In the latest Axe Files podcast, Axelrod interviews CNN Political Commentator David Gergen.)
America has to worry, Axelrod wrote, about what "an unbridled and shameless President will do next."
It didn't take long to begin finding out.
In the days following Trump's acquittal, the administration fired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from his White House job and recalled Ambassador Gordon Sondland. Both had given testimony damaging to Trump in the House impeachment hearings. "After months of publicly smearing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, it appears President Donald Trump took a final shot at a man who did nothing more than faithfully carry out the duties of his job -- and issued a warning shot to anyone else who dares question him," wrote Samantha Vinograd.
Trump's team prohibited anyone living in New York State from applying for the Global Entry trusted traveler program, a step Ruth Ben-Ghiat described this way: While officials said it was prompted by concern over "national security, in reality an authoritarian cocktail of spite, corruption and racism drives this decision -- one that will make America less secure and less efficient."
Election expert Rick Hasen warned, "Now, with the Senate trial behind him, the President can go right back to soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 elections." He said Trump could lie about the results of the 2020 election if it goes against him and can confidently expect Senate Republicans to back him up in any disputed parts of the vote.
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