The Senate acquitted President Trump, the president delivered his third State of the Union, and Trump took a victory lap. Here’s everything you missed this past week.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment.
It voted against the first article, abuse of power, 52-48, and the second article, obstruction of Congress, 53-47, falling well short of the 67-vote threshold needed to convict and remove the president from office. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney voted to convict Trump on the first article, invoking his faith as a reason.
“The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust,” Romney said. “What he did was not perfect. No, it was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security, and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.”
The night prior to Trump’s acquittal, the president delivered his third State of the Union address.
Tensions ran high during a speech in which he touted the success of the economy and the fight against terrorism. But he also gave it that reality TV show feel. A U.S. service member deployed to Afghanistan was reunited with his family, and Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk show host who was recently diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
While there were many highs for Trump’s address, it wasn’t without drama.
In the beginning of the speech, Trump appeared to snub Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attempted handshake. And at the end of his address, Pelosi tore up the president’s speech.
Finally, in light of his State of the Union address and acquittal, Trump took a victory lap.
At the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Trump criticized both Romney and Pelosi, the latter of whom was sitting on the dais.
“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong,” Trump said. “Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that that’s not so.”
He later celebrated at the White House with Republican lawmakers, sharing a copy of the Washington Post with the front-page headline reading: “Trump Acquitted.”
