There is no such thing as an “impeachment trial.” The impeachment of Trump has happened-—today. The trial is the trial.
Personally, I think his concern that it’s a black mark on him is unfortunate. I think it’s not going to hurt how history treats him at all. After all, barring some actual reason to remove him from office, he’s going to look rather good after he’s acquitted, certainly better by a light year than Slick Willie.
The impeachment ‘process’ started today.
What happened today was not an ‘impeachment’, it was a ‘vote for impeachment’.
Lawyer speak. You are free to ignore it as most will and you can regal with the ‘mostest’ thinking that hanging with the ‘mostest’ makes all your fellow mosters in the right. This is why our United States was not designed as a pure democracy, because such designs always fail and become ruled by tyrants.