Donald Trump’s acquittal leaves the Republican Party bitterly divided yet again

Donald Trump’s acquittal means he is free to run for office again. An increasingly vocal faction in his party is trying to stop him.

Former US president Donald Trump. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial ended with his acquittal on Saturday, clearing the way for the former president to run for office again in 2024.

Should he, though? That question is already creating a sharp divide in the Republican Party, between those who want the Trump era to end now and the loyalists who still believe he represents the party’s future.

A 57-43 majority of the US Senate voted in favour of convicting Mr Trump for inciting an insurrection on January 6, well short of the 67 votes the prosecution needed. Seven members of the former president’s own party voted against him.

Mr Trump greeted that result with a triumphant promise that his political movement had “only just begun”.

“In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it,” he said.

“We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant and limitless American future. Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

Not everyone is on board.

RELATED: Donald Jr rips into ‘loser’ Republicans

Who has two thumbs and has been acquitted in two impeachment trials? This guy. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

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‘NO QUESTION HE IS RESPONSIBLE’

As Mr Trump released that statement of intent, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell – who actually voted to acquit him – was unleashing one of his own on the Senate floor.

“January 6 was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They did this because they’d been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on earth. Because he was angry he’d lost an election,” said Mr McConnell.

“Former president Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty.

“There’s no question, none, that (former) president Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.

“The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country, and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.”

He went on to criticise Mr Trump’s inaction for hours after the violence started.

“A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him. It was obvious that only president Trump could end this,” Mr McConnell said.

“Former aides publicly begged him to do so. Loyal allies frantically called. The president did not act swiftly. He did not do his job. He did not take steps so federal law could be executed and order restored. No. Instead, according to public reports, he watched TV happily as the chaos unfolded. He kept pressing his schemes to overturn the election.

“Later, when the president finally started half-heartedly calling for peace, he didn’t call right away for the riot to end. He did not tell the mob to depart until even later. And even then, with police bleeding, he kept repeating election lies and praising the criminals.”

Mr McConnell warned that Mr Trump had not “gotten away with anything yet”, implying he could face legal action through the courts.

There is currently no sign of any such action, unless you count a criminal investigation in Georgia, which is examining Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn that state’s election result.

In subsequent remarks to Politico, Mr McConnell signalled he would work to make Republican candidates “electable” in the 2022 midterm elections, even if that means backing candidates Mr Trump does not support.

“Some of them may be people the former president likes. Some of them may not be. The only thing I care about is electability,” he said.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why Mr McConnell voted to acquit given everything he said above, he concluded the Senate did not have jurisdiction to try Mr Trump because he was no longer in office.

McConnell, after voting to acquit, says "there is no question" that Trump is "practically and morally responsible for provoking" Capitol riot. He explains his vote by saying he decided the former president "is constitutionally not eligible for conviction" https://t.co/3HfaYxaxQC pic.twitter.com/KUrelBwiFQ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 13, 2021

‘TRYING TO PURGE TRUMPISM’

The Senate leader’s speech did not pass without notice, and was quickly condemned by other high profile Republicans.

“There are new incarnations in the Republican Party of those who are trying to purge Trumpism from our movement,” Congressman Matt Gaetz, told Fox News on Sunday.

“Frankly, the most dangerous was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who took to the floor and essentially gave the Biden Justice Department cover to prosecute the president, his son – even his supporters who didn’t engage in any violent conduct on January 6.”

Senator Ron Johnson also warned of an attempted “purge” within the party from elements “that never liked Trump” in his own appearance on the network.

“You’ve got our leader (McConnell) out there really saying himself, impeachment is right to do. But at the same time, he has to realise as our leader, what he says reflects on us. I didn’t particularly like it,” said Mr Johnson.

“It does not reflect, I think, the majority of our conference.”

Adding his voice to the pro-Trump faction was Senator Lindsey Graham, who declared the “MAGA movement needs to continue”.

“We need to unite the party. Trump-plus is the way back in 2022,” he said, going on to take aim at his colleague from North Carolina, Senator Richard Burr, who voted guilty.

Mr Burr is retiring in 2022, and for months there has been speculation that Lara Trump – Eric Trump’s wife, a former personal trainer and TV producer – will run for his seat.

“The biggest winner, I think, of this whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump. My dear friend Richard Burr just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him, if she runs,” Mr Graham said.

“If she runs, I certainly will be behind her, because I think she represents the future of the Republican Party.”

Speaking of the former president’s family members, his son Donald Jr had a go at the seven Republicans who voted guilty in the immediate aftermath of the verdict.

“You obviously had the typical, the loser Republicans that couldn’t get elected dog catcher today,” he said.

“The ones that are so weak, like the Mitt Romneys of the world. With Republicans like Mitt Romney, who needs Democrats. Those clowns.”

Mr Romney last faced the voters in 2018. He was elected to the Senate representing Utah, a firmly Republican state, with a winning margin of 63 per cent to 31.

Donald Jr also slammed Mr Burr, labelling him a “Republican in name only”.

“If he had actual guts, if that guy actually had balls, he wouldn’t be pressured by the supposed bipartisan members of his committee in the Senate. But that’s not what happens,” he said.

If Donald Trump doesn’t run again, don’t rule out his son Donald Jr. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

TRUMP ‘CAN’T RUN AGAIN’

Mr Burr is facing the prospect of being censured by the North Carolina Republican Party over his vote in the trial. That has already happened to Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, whose state party’s executive board voted unanimously to censure within hours of the verdict.

Mr Cassidy has publicly defended his decision in the 48 hours since.

“I was elected to uphold an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The majority of the people in Louisiana want that to be the case,” he told ABC News.

“And I have respected that trust. I have voted to support and defend the Constitution.”

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican to have voted guilty who will actually have to run for re-election in 2022.

“If I can’t say what I believe our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?” she told Politico.

“I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions.

“(I’m) sure that there are many Alaskans that are very dissatisfied with my vote, and I’m sure that there are many Alaskans that are proud of my vote.”

In the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Liz Cheney has already been censured by the Wyoming Republican Party over her vote to impeach Mr Trump last month.

Ms Cheney, the third-highest ranking Republican in the House, subsequently faced an unsuccessful effort to oust her from her leadership role. Mr Gaetz even travelled to her state to campaign against her. She eventually won a secret ballot vote 145-61 to remain chair of the party conference.

Unchastened, Ms Cheney told Fox News that Mr Trump “does not have a role as the leader of our party going forward”.

“As I’ve explained, and will continue to explain to supporters all across the state, the oath that I took to the Constitution compelled me to vote for impeachment,” she said.

“It doesn’t bend to partisanship, it doesn’t bend to political pressure. It’s the most important oath that we take.

“The single greatest threat to our republic is a president who would put his own self-interest above the Constitution, above the national interest.”

Finally, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley publicly broke from Mr Trump last week, having previously served as his UN ambassador and had been spoken of as a potential pick to be his vice president.

“We need to acknowledge he let us down,” Ms Haley said in a lengthy interview.

“He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”

Ms Haley is widely expected to run for president in 2024. She said she did not believe Mr Trump would be a candidate.

“He’s not going to run for federal office again,” she said.

“I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.”