Trump revels in 'incredible' week – and more good news might be ahead

Tom McCarthy in New York 4 hrs ago

In a celebratory speech at the White House after his acquittal on impeachmentcharges this week, Donald Trump struck a note of complaint about having been put through “a phoney rotten deal by some very evil and sick people”.

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

But the president was smiling, the assembled crowd of fawning Republicans was laughing, and the mood was buoyant. An understanding was passing between Trump and his closest supporters on Capitol Hill that three years into his presidency, he had just enjoyed a very good week – and more good news might be ahead.

On Monday, Democrats failed to declare a winner in the Iowa caucuses, meant to be the first step on the road to picking someone to beat Trump in November. On Tuesday, Trump delivered a thunderous State of the Union address whose applause echoed for days in the conservative pundit-sphere.

And on Wednesday, Trump watched as one Republican senator after another stood on the Senate floor and uttered the words “not guilty” in response to charges that Trump had abused his power and obstructed Congress – charges that theoretically could have removed Trump from office.

In the end, it was not even close. Every Republican senator but one, Mitt Romney of Utah, voted in Trump’s favor, with many of them making speeches that piled on praise for Trump while raging at Democrats for attacking the man.

It is by no means clear what the impeachment and acquittal will mean for Trump’s re-election effort, and, given the pace of Trump’s surprises and scandals, the defining issue of the day on 3 November might not yet be on the horizon.

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