Not America First, but Trump First

Today's testimony by the House impeachment managers in the trial of Donald Trump focused on the devastating effects of the ex-president's lies and incitement of violence over a period of years. They described a man so narcissistic that he still cannot acknowledge an election loss, and so pathologically stubborn that he won’t admit it even to stop his deluded supporters from harming public officials. As Rep. David Cicilline said, "Trump chose himself—above the people, above our institutions, above our democracy, above all of you."

• —"Blood running out of the building." Rep. Diana DeGette spoke about how Trump radicalized his supporters—directly creating the crisis at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and a violent cult-like following that threatens potentially more devastating attacks to come. She used Trump's own public statements, as well as those of his supporters, to make the case. She also pointed to the costs: a "dimming of freedom," as the nation's capital became a fortress, with a loss of access by the people, and the astronomical tab for additional security.
   
• — "It was a preview of the coming insurrection." Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin demonstrated how Trump applauded violence from his supporters throughout his presidency—at his rallies, after Charlottesville, after the plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He questioned whether, if he isn't held accountable and is allowed to seek office again, the senators were confident he wouldn't resume the same conduct. "Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the safety of your family on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?"
•  
• — "It has deeply troubled me in a way I cannot set aside." To drive home the argument that Trump was directly responsible for the events of Jan. 6, Rep. Ted Lieu played a series of videos in which prominent Republicans, including Govs. Charlie Baker, Mike DeWine, and Larry Hogan, and former Trump Administration members, including Gen. James Mattis, Gen. John Kelly, Amb. John Bolton, and Mick Mulvaney, among others, blamed Trump for "lighting the flame." Lieu also pointed out that 16 members of Trump's own Cabinet and White House staff resigned in the wake of the attack.
• 
  — "We just exposed a huge vulnerability." Rep. Joaquin Castro spoke about the national security implications of the Capitol attack. As insurrectionists rifled through, took pictures of, and stole sensitive materials, it served as a "dress rehearsal" to the world for how the Capitol could be overtaken by a foreign enemy or terrorist group. The attack also led our adversaries to celebrate the "end" of democracy. "Let us show the world that Jan. 6 is not America," Castro said, urging Republicans to vote for conviction. —New York Daily News

WSJ Ed Board: Trump played with fire—and caused an inferno

"[T]here's no defense for Trump's conduct on Jan. 6 and before. Mitch McConnell is reportedly telling his GOP colleagues that the decision to convict or acquit is a vote of conscience, and that's appropriate. After the Electoral College voted on Dec. 14, Trump could have conceded defeat and touted his accomplishments. Now his legacy will be forever stained by this violence, and by his betrayal of his supporters in refusing to tell them the truth. Whatever the result of the impeachment trial, Republicans should remember the betrayal if Trump decides to run again in 2024." —The Wall Street Journal

MORE: SE Cupp: January 6 was the crime of the century —CNN

Confronting China

The Biden Administration is already conducting its China policy very differently from its predecessor. In the first conversation of his presidency with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Biden stressed that he intends to counter Chinese military expansionism and hold Beijing accountable for human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims and authoritarian moves in Hong Kong. The U.S. plans to defend its allies in the region, such as South Korea and Japan, and will coordinate with them to defend free navigation. Alongside Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon earlier in the day, Biden also announced plans for a Pentagon review of national security strategy on China. —The Washington Post

MORE: Trump hid his calls with Putin. Now, Biden has access to them —Politico

Wisconsin may consider shift to RCV

Two legislative Democrats are introducing a bill that would move Wisconsin to a ranked-choice voting system. State Rep. Mark Spreitzer says the change would allow people to not only vote for who they would hope to win, but also who they prefer to win. Spritzer says the method creates more fair competition and would ensure that whoever wins an election really has the approval of a majority of residents. It's unclear yet whether the bill will reach the floor of the Wisconsin Assembly or Senate. —Wisconsin Radio Network

MORE: Sen. Miramant's ranked-choice voting expansion bill receives public hearing —Penbay Pilot

Schiffrin: Time to save the local news

"Desperate times call for bold action, and these are undoubtedly desperate times for journalism. But the news industry has been struggling since well before the pandemic. Unless countries go beyond short-term support to build and nurture more resilient local-news ecosystems, the reliable and verifiable information our societies need will become increasingly difficult to find." —Anya Schiffrin in Project Syndicate

Anya Schiffrin is a senior lecturer at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Focus on global press freedom

Hong Kong's top court denied bail this week to media tycoon and critic of the Chinese Communist Party Jimmy Lai, the most high-profile person to be charged under the city's national security law. Lai was arrested in August when about 200 police officers raided the newsroom of his Apple Daily newspaper. Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on the former British colony last June after months of pro-democracy protests. The law punishes anything China determines to be subversion, secession, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. —Reuters

• — China. China has formally arrested and started a criminal investigation against a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas. She has been detained for six months. "The Australian government has raised its serious concerns about Ms. Cheng's detention regularly at senior levels, including about her welfare and conditions of detention," Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said. —CBS News
•  
• — Hungary. One of Hungary's last independent radio stations, Klubrádió, will be removed from the airwaves after a Budapest court upheld a decision not to renew its license. The station, which often featured voices from Hungary's opposition, had appealed to the court after its license was revoked last year by the country's Media Council for allegedly violating rules on advertising. Members of the Media Council are elected by the Hungarian National Assembly, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban's far-right Fidesz party has a majority. —CNN
•  
• — Poland. Independent media outlets in Poland suspended news coverage and other programming yesterday in protest of a new advertising tax that they view as an attempt by the country's right-wing government to undermine press freedoms. Gazeta Wyborcza, the country's leading newspaper and a liberal critic of the populist government, called the advertising tax "a powerful blow to free media." —U.S. News & World Report

Frum: The complicit GOP

"The remorseless, crushing power of the House managers' evidence, all backed by horrifying real-time audio and video recordings, shuttered any good-faith defense of Trump on the merits of the case. The constitutional defense—that it's impossible to convict a president if he leaves office between his impeachment and his trial—was rejected by 56 senators, not least because it defies a quarter millennium of federal and state precedents. There is no defense. There is only complicity, whether motivated by weakness and fear or by shared guilt." —David Frum in The Atlantic

David Frum is a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic.

MORE: Dozens of former Republican officials in talks to form anti-Trump third party —Reuters

It is fascinating to listen to, and read, what is being speculated with regards to potential precedents that may be set with this second impeachment. There are many examples but to net it out, by trying to hold Trump accountable for his actions would open Pandora's box in the future. And the "logic" that a president cannot be impeached for actions in January of their fourth or eighth year of office because they could just "run out the clock."

Let's be clear and say it out loud. Precedents mean nothing to the criminal mindset and cowards of many in the Trump party. Lest we forget how a Supreme Court justice cannot be confirmed in an election year. How did that one work out? Their "precedents" are totally flexible when they may impact themselves and members of their cult. Who in their right mind thinks that if a Democrat, and even more so a Black Democrat, did EXACTLY the things Trump did these last several months with regards to trying to steal the election (fascinating how Trump always projects on others what he does) that they would, as now, claim it unconstitutional to hold the trial because he or she had left office?

And it is that which all members of the cult should be hounded to explain. If, as they claim, Trump won the election and is "still president" (after all, that is the endpoint to the lie they espouse, and all the rest is just pomp and circumstance), then how can the trial be unconstitutional because he is no longer president? In their bizarro world, he's still president. So please explain, Sen. Hawley, Sen. Paul, Sen. Graham, Sen. Cruz, and so on. Please enlighten us with your super intellect. —Bill T., Arizona

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.