Posted on 02/07/2020 8:20:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
After a months-long impeachment process that has exposed many divisions in the nation, the Senate voted to acquit President Trump Wednesday on two articles brought by Democratic members of the House: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The votes were 52-48 and 53-47, with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voting to convict the president on the first article. Other than Romney, the Senate votes fell along partisan lines, with every Democrat voting to convict and every Republican voting to acquit. The acquittal came the day after Tuesday's State of the Union address.
Speaking Thursday in the East Room of the White House, President Trump celebrated the end of the process, and took aim at those who launched the effort, such as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person," the president said, adding that he did not think she was sincere in her prayers.
Throughout the impeachment process, Pelosi often emphasized that it was sad time for the country and said she was praying for the president and urged Americans to be prayerful.
The president also made a point to thank the Republican members of the House and Senate who were either part of his defense team or who most vocally backed him in the past several months. Trump predicted House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would soon become Speaker of the House.
Reactions to the president's acquittal and White House speech Thursday have poured in. Here are how some Christian thought leaders and public figures are responding.
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FRANKLIN GRAHAM: "HE's NOT GUILTY"
Evangelist Franklin Graham, who has at times been among the most vocal and persistent defenders of the president, expressed that the impeachment was a waste of time.
"He’s not guilty" wrote Graham on his Facebook page, speaking of Trump.
"This has been such a distraction and a waste of time for our country. There’s so many important things that Washington needs to join the President in focusing on. The President has said he’s not bitter. I wish that Nancy Pelosi, Mitt Romney, Chuck Schumer and others would give up on their bitterness and hatred and start working with this President instead of against him.
He added: "The Bible warns us, “...if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:25).
DENNY BURKE: VICTORY SPEECH SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE GRACIOUS
Denny Burk, a public theologian and professor at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky, said he felt the president should have been more gracious in his address Thursday.
"I suppose this was never in the cards, but the nation really could have benefited from a positive, constructive speech," Burk tweeted Thursday.
"After a bitter fight, it takes generosity, character, and self-forgetfulness to come up with those kinds of words, but that is not what we have," he said.
JIM WALLIS: ROMNEY DESERVES CREDIT FOR HIS VOTE
Sojourners magazine founder, president and editor-in-chief, Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical, heaped praise on the lone Republican senator to vote to convict the president, noting the role faith played in Romney's decision.
"I am thankful for Senator Mitt Romney’s courageous decision to be the first Senator ever to vote to impeach a President from his own party by saying, 'I take an oath before God as enormously consequential.' And the long poignant pause when he spoke about his faith in the Senate," Wallis wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
ERICK ERICKSON: THE IMPEACHMENT WAS 'HOT AIR'
Christian conservative commentator Erick Erickson, editor of the Resurgent, said the Democrats have been planning what took place for the past few months for many years and that it was ultimately an empty pursuit with no substance.
"The day after the President's inauguration, the Washington Post declared impeachment had begun. Today, impeachment died. What a waste of energy, time, taxpayer dollars, and pundit hot air," he tweeted.
"The idea that the constitution has somehow been broken by the United States Senate following constitutional processes is overwrought drama," he added in a separate tweet Thursday.
DAVID FRENCH: Impeachment highlights triumph of partisan loyalty, winning
Writing on his blog, The French Press, following Trump's acquittal, David French, a former attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, argued that "winning" is now the prevailing ethic instead of constitutional principle.
"As we survey the American political landscape, it’s become increasingly clear that both parties love their living Constitution. Structural originalism is dead. Congress is no longer the supreme branch of the government. It’s supine before the presidency. The federal courts are no longer the 'least dangerous branch.' The president’s hand-picked judges often dominate American politics," French wrote.
"The lesson here is clear. Just win, baby. Just win, and we’ll love you. We’ll defend you. And as we do, we’ll enrage our fellow citizens with our merry hypocrisy. Until it is their turn to rule, and then we’ll wonder why they won’t uphold the principles we so gleefully discarded."
Franklin Graham one of my favorite preachers.
Some of these people seem to begin with the idea of Guilty until proven innocent, and if you are acquitted, you’re still Guilty because we knew you were guilty before we started.
Shameful from both a Christian and an American viewpoint.
Wallis is a Soros paid goon and a rabid anti-semite.
Too funny,, these reviews read like the reviews of most of my favorite movies,, hahaha
I think he said it best and his Bible quote regarding a house divided was perfect.
The argument David French puts forth makes no sense. First of all, the articles of impeachment put forth by the House was completely partisan, so the response of the GOP was not “ just win baby.” Secondly, either Trump committed a high crime or misdemeanor or he didn’t, so one side or the other HAD to be in the right.
I see only one Christian leader cited in this article, and it’s Franklin Graham.
Where has Graham been for the last 30 or so years?
Around these parts we call men like Wallis and French ‘CINOs’, because they are not Christians in the sense of following The Word of God as spiritual new-borns. Are they Christians? Watching their behavior, I doubt it.
I remember when I was living in Texas listening to a Christian station and Franklin was being interviewed. He shared that for a period of his life like the prodigal Son he went renegade and did not follow that which guided his fathers journey.
He had his own epiphany and turned back to the foundations of his life, in other words he saw the light and came back home...
Scripture teaches valuable lessons and letting someone go and find their own path and choose is the basic theme of this parable. He made the choice we all must make and returned, repentant and clear in taking the right path.
All of us must do the same, and it is a personal choice that leads to a peace that defies understanding
Admire him for his journey back home, I hope others do the same
Denny Burke:
“After a bitter fight, it takes generosity, character, and self-forgetfulness to come up with those kinds of words, but that is not what we have,” he said.
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
A little advice for Denny Burke, whoever he is:
Do not cast pearls before swine.
I do indeed. Been there.
Since when is David French a “Christian Leader”?
Well, the title also mentions Political Commentators. David French also professes to be an Evangelical Christian.
David French can go pound sand.
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