FOR so many reasons, the world is watching unfoldingĀ events in the impeachment inquiry against United States President Donald Trump, who is accused of seeking foreign help to smear leading DemocraticĀ Party presidential rival Joe Biden ahead of the coming US presidential election.
After several months holding offĀ calls for impeachment of the USĀ president, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy PelosiĀ finally agreed to begin an inquiry after meeting with Democratic Party leaders, following reports that Trump had pressured Ukrainian President VolodymyrĀ Zelenskiy to investigate BidenāsĀ son Hunter who works for a companyĀ drilling for gas in Ukraine.Ā Trump has admitted calling the Ukrainian president and discussing Biden with him, but denied he withheld nearly $400 million in US aid to Ukraine as leverage.
Impeachment of a sitting president is a process in the government systems of some 25 countries around theĀ world, including the Philippines. In the US, the House votes by simple majority to impeach ā that is, to file charges that are considered āhigh crimes and misdemeanors,ā which are then tried by the SenateĀ which needs a three-fourths vote to convict and remove the president from office.
In the whole of US history, two presidents ā AndrewĀ Johnson inĀ 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 ā have been impeached by the House but both were eventually cleared by the Senate which was dominated by the sitting presidentās party.Ā This is why the expectation today is that Trump will be impeached by the Democratic Party-controlled House but will win in the Republican Party-controlled Senate. For the impeachment process is a political process,Ā rather than a judicial one.
Nations around the world are now closely following developments in Washington, DC, for various reasons. PresidentĀ Trump initiated the US trade war with China, which has now greatly affected Chinaās economyĀ and those of other nations, like ours, which trade heavily with China. Trump singularly rejected anĀ agreementĀ with Iran which is now suspected of hitting back with the attack on Saudi Arabiaās oil production facilities.
Trump has openly criticizedĀ Americaās traditional allies in Europe for not spending enough for regional security. He has hit Mexico and other Central American governments for the horde of immigrants seeking to enter the US. He has, however, praisedĀ Russian President Vladimir Putin, defending Russia against US intelligence reports thatĀ the RussiansĀ intervened in the US electionsĀ in 2016 against Hilary Clinton, for Trump.
As for the Philippines,Ā Trump has not figured prominently in our national affairs, but the US government continues to stand by us, despite President Duterteās declaration at one time that he wasĀ readyĀ to stand with China and Russia against the rest of the world.
Thus, for so many reasons, the world is watching closelyĀ as the impeachment process against Trump opens in the US. It will affectĀ the election campaign that is now underway towards the presidential election in November, 2020, when Trump seeks reelection.
The US is the worldās leading economy today as well as its lone military superpower. We hope the ongoing impeachment process will not introduceĀ any destabilization thatĀ is boundĀ to affectĀ us and the rest of the world.