Saturday’s chilly weather was not enough to keep supporters and critics of the President’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate from holding rallies in Michigan cities.
As a few flurries swirled in the air in Ann Arbor, several dozen people turned out for a rally in support of the President’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.
Chanting “Trump Pence Out Now”, they called on Republican U.S. Senators to join Senate Democrats to vote to remove President Donald Trump from office.
“We have a real chance of getting Trump out of power,” says impeachment supporter Jessica Prozinski , “And we just have to fight as hard as we can right now to take advantage of that.”
The feeling was quite different among a smaller group of demonstrators who attended Saturday rallies in Lansing and Detroit.
Chanting “Trump 2020”, the group of Trump supporters expressed disdain for the impeachment process.
Ben Hirschmann was waving a “Trump 2020” banner at an anti-impeachment rally in Detroit.
“I think it’s just now a whole thing about keeping him off the ballot,” says Hirschmann, “(The Democrats) animosity toward him has always shown.”
President Donald Trump's lawyers on Saturday argued a robust version of one of the president's favorite phrases to tweet: "read the transcript!" It was the first day of defense arguments in Trump's impeachment trial, and the Senate gathered for two quick hours in a rare Saturday session. The White House lawyers had said it would be a "sneak preview" of their defense, and they spent the morning picking through the House impeachment managers' arguments by charging that they were politically motivated.
On Friday, Democratic prosecutors warned President Trump will persist in abusing his power unless Congress intervenes to remove him from office. Rep. Adam Schiff wrapped up the presentation by urging Republican senators to "Give America a fair trial" by allowing new testimony before rendering a final verdict. Support from enough centrist GOP Senators is needed to call for new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton.
NPR’s live coverage of the President’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate will resume Monday afternoon on Michigan Radio.
