OPINION | Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those held by Sarah Palin.
The United States House of Representatives will not pursue efforts to censure former President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week.
Immediately following the U.S. Senate vote where Trump was acquitted, Pelosi held an impromptu press conference where she was initially jubilant and spoke highly of her impeachment managers. Pelosi then thanked them for their efforts, despite being unable to convince the chamber to convict the president.
“I have to say, personally, on behalf of my grandchildren who drew great hope and inspiration from each and every one of you, we could not be prouder of your patriotic presentations, the clarity with which you presented and, again, the inspiration you have been to so many people, so I thank you for that,” she said, as BizPac Review reports.
Pelosi, who led both efforts to impeach Trump, then attempted to leave the podium when she was roped into answering a question by the group of reporters about censuring Trump.
“Censure is a slap in the face of the Constitution that gives, lets everybody off the hook. It lets everybody off the hook,” she explained.
“Oh, these cowardly Senators who couldn’t face up to what the President did and what was at stake for our country are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist?” Pelosi asked.
She added: “We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose. We don’t censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol.”
Pelosi then criticized “a cowardly group of Republicans” who she claimed “dismissed” Trump’s responsibility.
“What we saw in that Senate today was a cowardly group of Republicans who apparently have no options because they were afraid to defend their job, respect the institution in which they serve,” she said. “Imagine that it would be vandalized in so many bad ways that I won’t even go into here, and that they would not respect their institution.”
She concluded: “That the President of the Senate, Mike Pence – ‘Hang Mike Pence’ was the chant and they just dismissed that. Why? Because maybe they can’t get another job. What is so important about any one of us? What is so important about the political survival of any one of us that is more important than our Constitution that we take an oath to protect and defend?”
While Pelosi fumed at Republicans, she could have also pointed blame at the senatorial impeachment trial as many Republicans said they were unconvinced by the evidence brought against the president.
Several others contended that no witnesses were allowed to testify — except a single written statement from one Republican House member.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz, one of those members left unconvinced, said the House impeachment managers simply failed to meet the criteria to prove incitement.
“The legal standard for incitement is very high and it is clear by the results of this vote that the House Managers failed to present a coherent standard for incitement,” Cruz explained.
The future of Trump’s political career is unclear—atleast for now—but moments after Pelosi’s presser #Trump2024 briefly trended on Twitter.