Why Donald Trump should be dismissed from office and penalized to uphold democracy

Since 2016, Trump’s popularity rates have continued to decrease because of his reputation as one of the most controversial presidents in American history. He continues to be under suspicion of many white-collar crimes.

Because of the polarization of American politics and the president’s questionable actions, the House of Representatives decided to draft an impeachment inquiry against the president. These proceedings have continued throughout the past couple of months, while Trump is being investigated for charges relating to his involvement with the Ukrainian government. On Tuesday, they leveled two impeachment charges against Trump.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, impeachment is the “action of calling into question the integrity or validity of something.” Holding Trump accountable for his actions directly aligns with the supremacy clause of the Constitution that states the document ”shall be the supreme law of the land.” With this being said, we must impeach Donald Trump, not for the sole purpose of his removal from office, but to uphold our American values of democracy. Refusing to confront Trump only emboldens him and the government must make it clear that no one is above the law.

There is clear suspicion of illegal activity that was conducted under the Trump administration. This is true on many accounts including multiple colleagues of Trump who have been convicted of major white-collar crimes. For example, Paul Manafort, Trump’s presidential campaign chairman was convicted on eight charges of bank and tax fraud around the time of the Mueller Report and investigation. Trump’s personal lawyer, Micheal Cohen, has also pleaded guilty to campaign violations and was involved in silencing Stormi Daniels. Due to the consistent pattern of arrests, resignations, as well as investigations, it is clear that they all have one thing in common…Donald Trump.

Concerning the Ukraine scandal, legally Trump has vast foreign policy powers that aren’t explicit to the constitution. Because of these implied powers, there is room for debate on whether Trump committed a crime but many legal scholars agree that the president has exploited the constitutional vagueness of executive power when it comes to foreign policy. The President of the United States vowed to prioritize public interest over personal gain when taking oath into office. Donald Trump, is entrusted with the nation’s best interests but violated it when Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine for personal political gain involving the upcoming 2020 election.

Along with the issue of Ukraine, the hot topic is potential results of the impeachment proceedings has been over the actual solution of impeachment. Congress can come to three conclusions: censure, removal from office, or allowing Trump to continue his term in office. Censuring the president would ‘sternly condemn’ him in the eyes of the public, but this is not enough. Ideally, we must remove Trump from office, if he is found guilty, to uphold our democratic values as a country.

Trump must be impeached to preserve the American ideal of democracy, and must undergo trial to face the consequences of his actions to rid him of his self proclaimed ‘god complex’.

As the proceedings continue, it is important to understand the historical significance of these uncommon events, as well as the possible political consequences.  The potential failure of these proceedings could be detrimental to the people’s trust in the government as well as further polarizing American politics.