Written by: Andrew Johnson, staff writer
President Donald J. Trump was acquitted from the charges brought against him, on Wednesday, Feb. 5. This will allow the President to stay in office until the end of his current term. Less than a majority of senators voted for eviction while the U.S. Constitution requires 67 of a 100; the vote fell 28 short required to throw Trump out of office. There was only one Senate Republican who deviated from voting for acquittal, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney.
On Feb. 6, the President gave his remarks on the ordeal to a crowd within the White House, which consisted of his friends and supporters. In an hour-long video that was released on the White House’s YouTube channel, Trump began by stating that these proceedings have been “a very unfair situation.”
Trump discussed how the unfairness and prejudice shown to his administration had not started with the impeachment, but when he and the First Lady were sworn in.
In the first few minutes, Trump repeated the phrase, “dirty cops and bad people.” Then he continued to state that if he had not fired FBI Director James Comey, he wouldn’t be in office. He thanked those that supported him and his friends to contrast those who wish him ill.
A persistent theme throughout the speech was his warlike rhetoric, in that he talked about how this situation was a war and that he and his administration had been fighting against those who would stop him.
“Some of the people here have been incredible warriors,” Trump stated. “They’re warriors, warrior.” He told the crowd how the warriors had told him over and over that he wasn’t fighting a legal and fair fight, but an unfair battle of politics.
President Trump continued to compare and contrast his victories and friends with the “unfair” dealings of the Democrat party. He talked of the victories he helped other Republicans win, such as Josh Hawley for U.S. senate.
Trump then mentioned the triumphs of his party, stating that, “the Republican party’s poll numbers are the highest they’ve ever been since 2004 or 2005.” He used that to lead into his own poll numbers, which he also said are the highest.
For the substantive part of the speech, Trump named people who have helped him get out of the impeachment or who he has helped win elections. The President thanked them many times each and talked about how talented they were. In his typical style, Trump spent a great deal of time telling stories of political victories or social victories or even stories that don’t have much to do with politics, such as a baseball game.
A quote from President Trump that best summarizes the speech is this, “So that’s the story, we’ve been treated very unfairly, fortunately we have great men and women that came to our defense. If we didn’t this would have been a horrific incident for our country.”
Trump ended his hour-long speech by talking about his own victories with the economy and thanking his family and all his supporters.
Watch the video released by the White House here.
Andrew Johnson is a politics and government journalist for the Bryan Triangle. He is a sophomore at Bryan and is currently studying communications. He likes hiking and spending time outdoors.
