Opinions split along party lines
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday made President Donald Trump the first chief executive to be impeached twice in the most bipartisan vote on such an action in the nation's history.
Representatives impeached him for “incitement of insurrection,” referring to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, during which pro-Trump supporters stormed the nation's iconic legislative building. Five people died during the riot, in which the mob destroyed property, vandalized the Capitol and threatened lawmakers.
Adding to the historic nature of the moment, Trump will likely also be the only president in U.S. history to face a Senate impeachment trial after leaving office.
While 10 Republican lawmakers joined their Democratic colleagues in passing the resolution impeaching the president, neither of Butler County's two Republican representatives voted to impeach Trump.In just one day of debate, Republican congressmen railed against the hastened impeachment attempt, while Democrats said the president's actions ahead of last Wednesday's Capitol riots make it clear he “will remain a threat to national security.”The county's Republican legislators were split on why they did not support impeachment.Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-15th, called it it an “impromptu” impeachment, saying it was rushed and does not comport with constitutional norms. Thompson added he believes impeachment is “something the framers of our Constitution intended to be a deliberate process.” He further condemned the insurrection as “a gruesome and senseless display.”“There has not been an investigation, there have been no hearings and we are seven days away from a new administration assuming the lead of our government,” Thompson said. “I do not believe impeachment is the appropriate course of action at this time, and remain concerned that moving forward will only further sow seeds of division across the political landscape.”U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, however, more explicitly argued Trump did not commit treason, bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors.“I don't believe President Trump committed an impeachable offense when he told those at the rally to protest peacefully and make their voices heard,” Kelly said. “He did not tell them to commit violence, and he and all of Congress have rightfully condemned the rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol.“If America is to come together, political games have to stop. Impeachment of a president for First Amendment-protected speech just days before he leaves office is not a step toward unity.”Both Kelly and Thompson voted to object to the certification of Pennsylvania's electoral votes hours after the riots outside and within the Capitol building last week.Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17th, voted along with 221 additional House Democrats to impeach the president.Lamb, who represents part of Cranberry Township and all of Beaver and eastern Allegheny counties, called for Trump's impeachment in the days leading up to the vote and has asserted Trump is also responsible for the reported threats to all 50 state capitols and the federal Capitol in the coming days.Lamb argued that Trump could take additional actions harming the country in the week left in his term, saying the distance until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration does not preclude impeachment.“This impeachment vote was bipartisan because it wasn't about politics,” Lamb said. “This is about public safety. There is no doubt that President Trump committed the conduct in the article of impeachment. Even though there is only one week left in his term, impeachment is necessary because Donald Trump is a clear and ongoing threat to our communities, to our military and to our government.”
Just as the House was largely split along party lines, Butler County residents too had mixed thoughts on the historic second impeachment of a sitting president.Toby John of Butler said he supported the impeachment because of Trump's rhetoric ahead of the invasion of the Capitol.“I think all the things he's said, and the direction he's going, led to the riots,” John said, saying Trump's words “at least opened the door in some way.”Lawrence DeLair of Parker, a Vietnam veteran, disagrees with John's logic, saying he does not believe Trump's words that day or in the months leading up to it led to the events in Washington, D.C.
“It's terrible they are using the impeachment process over a little thing,” DeLair said. “It's got to be more serious than that. I am dead set against it.”In the southern part of the county, Carol Delisio of Cranberry Township disapproved of the attack on the Capitol, and says it's important to hold people responsible for their actions, regardless of the cause they were protesting. But, she said, the civil unrest during last summer's Black Lives Matter protests showed her Trump's rhetoric is not the most pressing issue facing the country.“I think it's ridiculous,” Delisio said. “I think there are so many issues that need to be addressed.”Standing in a yard filled with “Make America Great Again” Trump campaign signs, Rose Wilson of Parker said she doesn't believe Trump incited the riots.
She and her husband, David Wilson, were in the Washington on Jan. 6 and heard Trump's speech. They said most of the people at the event were peaceful, and David Wilson asserted that antifa caused the riots, although the FBI and Justice Department have refuted those claims.Rose Wilson said she thinks the impeachment doesn't come from Trump's actions, but because Democrats have wanted to impeach him. “It's the hatred of the left against Donald Trump,” she said.“Donald Trump has done a lot for our country,” she said, holding a “Make America Great Again” hat sporting the president's signature on its bill. “There's a lot of things that people didn't agree with in how he spoke, but we understood him because he related to the people.”Sean MacMillan, a Prospect resident and art professor at Slippery Rock University, said it is “pretty appalling” that Trump, in the months since the election, had refused to concede and misled his supporters about his electoral loss.
MacMillan added that “everybody saw this coming,” referring to the violence Jan. 6.He supported the impeachment measure, but does not believe it will succeed when Trump is tried in the Senate, much like the last time the president was impeached.“There definitely needs to be repercussions,” MacMillan said. “President Trump has done a lot without any consequences. The fact that he incited violence that morning is repulsive.”
In Butler, Jim Smith, whose house bears a Biden/Harris campaign flag, said he's “never seen (the country) this divided,” but added he supported impeachment.“It was justified,” Smith said. “He crossed the line big time.”Eagle staff writers Harold Aughton, Samantha Beal, Seb Foltz and Eric Jankiewicz contributed to this report.
