Trump plans Thursday ‘victory’ statement from White House in wake of impeachment acquittal
LOS ANGELES - President Donald Trump was acquitted on both articles in his impeachment trial on Wednesday, shortly after announcing that he will be making a public statement on Thursday regarding “our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!”
Trump was acquitted of both counts of impeachment on Wednesday. Senators cast a 52-48 vote for acquittal of abuse of power, and a 53-47 vote for acquittal of obstruction of justice. The votes mark the end of several months of testimonies and proceedings regarding arguments for Trump's impeachment.
Mitt Romney, the U.S. Senator from Utah and a former Republican presidential candidate, was among those who crossed party lines by casting a vote in favor of conviction for abuse of power but not obstruction of justice. Senators would have needed a two-thirds voting majority to be successful in conviction.
Related: Utah Sen. Mitt Romney votes guilty on 1st article of impeachment, not guilty on 2nd
Trump's acquittal also comes just a day after he delivered his third State of the Union Address, where he proclaimed a "great American comeback." At the end of the address, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ripped up a written copy, signaling the furthering divide between the two parties.
A statement from Stephanie Grisham, White House Press Secretary, released shortly after news of the acquittal referred to the impeachment hearings as a "totally corrupt process" and that the Democrats "have nothing to show for their fraudulent schemes."
The president also tweeted a video featuring him in a manipulated version of a TIME Magazine cover in the minutes after his acquittal.
The video features a parade of Trump signs from different campaign years, until the president himself appears behind a final sign. The year on the final sign continues to climb, first into the 2,100s, then into new millennia, until the year finally transforms into a message reading “TRUMP 4EVA.”
The president had previously shared the video on Twitter in June 2019. The official TIME account was quick to respond by sharing the unaltered version of the video.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.