Of course President Donald Trump should be impeached. In fact, impeachment proceedings should have been initiated as soon as he took office and enacted the Muslim travel ban, or perhaps even before this, as he was in clear violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution. But what has been frustrating as news of Trump’s impeachment has taken over headlines is not just the fact that Democrats waited until the final year of his first—though perhaps not his last—term in office, or that they ignored calls to “impeach the motherfucker,” as advised by Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
What boggles the mind is not what the trial—which promises to be one of the most contentious and partisan in the history of the country—is, but what it is not: accountability for the vast array of crimes and offenses Trump has committed, especially against people of color. They have been noted from the very beginning: from his criminal neglect of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria to his declaration of a fake national emergency to fund the border wall, his ramping up of drone strikes overseas, and aiding and abetting of Saudi Arabia’s murderous campaign in Yemen, there are no shortage of reasons to remove Trump from office.