Impeaching Donald Trump a second time is unnecessary and risks further dividing the US

Editorial: It would be far better to allow the nation to turn a page after he leaves office, without handing him more ammunition with which to fuel claims of an establishment conspiracy against him

(Dave Brown)

In a New Year’s Eve message, Joe Biden urged the United States to “unite, heal and rebuild in 2021”. It has been a familiar message since his victory in November’s election. The need for the polarised country to come together is even more important now following the Donald Trump-inspired insurrection at the Capitol last week.  

Yet the Democratic Party and some Republican politicians have set off on a course that risks widening the divide by impeaching Mr Trump – the first president to be impeached twice.

Ten Republicans in the House of Representatives went against him. Liz Cheney – the third most senior Republican in the lower house and daughter of the former vice president Dick Cheney – voted to impeach a president who, she said, “summoned this mob, assembled this mob and lit the flame of this attack”.