Was Donald Trump impeached twice?

A large proportion of the world would rather forget that the United States of America elected celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump as its president. 

What first kicked off as a bit of a meme of a campaign which thoroughly entertained the internet quickly turned into a cause for concern when Trump’s bid gained traction, eventually leading him to be the Republican Party’s selected presidential candidate and shock winner of the election.

Four years of questionable leadership followed, culminating in the loss of lives after the then outgoing President instigated a violent riot at the Capitol building after claiming that the 2020 election was rigged. In the aftermath of this event, Trump then became the first US President to be impeached twice during his term.

The Ukraine Scandal

The first instance in which Trump was impeached was after a whistleblower close to the White House expressed concern over a phone conversation the former president had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jul. 25, 2019. 

The conversation came days after Trump blocked just shy of $400 million in military aid to Ukraine (this was before Russia invaded), which is speculated to have been used as a bargaining chip in what Trump requested of Zelensky.

Trump stood accused of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden to dig up scandalous dirt on them, seeing as Joe Biden was the frontrunner to challenge him during the 2020 presidential election. His personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was also allegedly involved in coercing Ukrainian officials to some degree. 

The US House of Representatives was successful in voting to impeach Trump, however, the motion did not pass the then-Republican-controlled Senate.

The Capitol Riot

Having lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, an incensed Trump was convinced that the results had been rigged. Shortly after midday on Jan. 6, 2022, the outgoing president addressed his supporters in Washington D.C, doubling down on his belief that the election results were falsified, and encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell.”

Meanwhile, an armed crowd succeeded in overwhelming security outside the Capitol building and managed to make their way inside, vandalizing the building and making their way into the offices of lawmakers.A rioter was shot dead by security, and a police officer was beaten and died of a stroke the following day.

While Trump attempted to diffuse the situation and encouraged no violence and advocated for peace several hours into the attack, the damage had well and truly already been done. The House again succeeded in impeaching Trump for inciting the riot, however, the Senate again dismissed the motion on the technicality that Trump was no longer in office and trying him was unconstitutional. 

Trump was also swiftly banned from Twitter, after which point he was thankfully absent from the public eye for the next two or so years, for the most part. That all changed when he confirmed his intention to run for president in 2024.