Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial began on Feb. 9 due to the violent attacks in the Capital on Jan. 6. The trial took four days with the final decision, “not guilty.” However, he should have been guilty because he encouraged his supporters to be violent and promoted the idea there was fraud in the election. He should have simply admitted his loss and promoted a peaceful transition. Students should become educated on what occurred in order to prevent this from repeating itself in the future. 

While Congress was in session confirming Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, rioters stormed the Capitol after Trump encouraged them to “fight.” At a rally prior to the confirmation of ballots, Trump said, “We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He was referring to his opinion of election “fraud.”

“I am interested to see what methods are used to connect him with the insurrection at the Capitol building. I am also interested to see if the ‘votes in favor of’ and ‘against’ impeachment are purely along party lines,” U.S. history teacher Ryan Miller said. 

Many people are not convinced the Senate is going to be an impartial jury. The likelihood of Trump being convicted duly and fairly is very low. In order to be guilty the impeachment needs 67, all 50 Democrats will vote, but the majority of Republicans will vote not guilty. 

Law and Justice teacher Micheal Puhrmann said he hopes the topic is discussed openly and honestly. He thinks that both sides should be heard and encourages students to talk about the issues the country faces. 

Educators believe students should have their voices heard when discussing this kind of topic in the U.S. History and Government class. Students should be able to state their opinion on issues that are occurring while being respectful towards others. This can also give students a better idea of ways this kind of issue can be handled.

Senior Grant Hymes thinks students “my age should definitely be paying attention to the impeachment trial and politics in general” at a young age to understand how politics works. 

Students who are involved in political clubs think that any student around the age of 17 should be observing what happens with politics because they will get a better understanding of the topic. Finally, when they are able to vote, they know who to vote for and will be beneficial for the nation too. 

“I am optimistic that it will have little effect in the way of negative reactions like we saw after the election. With former President Trump’s removal from multiple social media platforms, he doesn’t seem quite as interested in keeping the spotlight of public attention on himself,” Miller added. 

“Depending on how the party handles the growing tensions, they could potentially face a massive loss in the 2022 midterm elections, especially if Trump continues to bash GOP politicians over their negative comments on him,” Hymes added.  

Furthermore, people hope this event will not happen again in our future. Also, others assume this will have an impact on the Republican party later on, now that people are starting to realize who actually cares about the nation.  

All Democrats and seven Republicans blame Trump for the riots that happened in the U.S. Capital because of his attitude towards his supporters. People’s lives were lost, some were injured and many are now traumatized. Republicans voted not guilty because they are facing challenges. If they vote guilty it affects them because they might not get re-elected, they are voted “against” their own party. 

“Keep talking about political issues with your friends and family once open, honest relationships have been established. Approach each conversation from a position of civil discourse, expect to do more listening than talking and you’ll be surprised by how much you learn. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll be surprised by how much better you make another person feel by letting them voice their thoughts in a safe space,” said Ryan Miller. “Engage in thoughtful conversation, don’t cancel anyone out,” Puhrmann added. 

Students learn about all sides of this topic because this depends on their future. They should be able to understand what will benefit our nation in order for this event not to repeat ever again.