The president of the United States, Joe Biden, said Thursday that the shocking evidence of the assault on the Capitol presented in the impeachment against his predecessor, Donald Trump, may change the mind of some Republicans loyal to the former president. Biden has suggested that the videos shown may convince some senators to condemn the former president: “I think some may have changed their minds,” he said from the Oval Office.
So far, a large majority of Republicans have supported Trump, who is accused of “inciting insurrection” on January 6, when a crowd of his supporters invaded the headquarters of Congress to try to stop the certification of the electoral victory of Biden. So a conviction of Trump, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, is highly unlikely.

Trump’s lawyers will have the opportunity to speak this Thursday or Friday when the Democratic congressmen who serve as prosecutors conclude their case. Trump’s defense maintains that the former president cannot be personally blamed for the riot and that the entire trial is unconstitutional because the defendant has already left office. But Democratic lawmakers acting as prosecutors turned over hard evidence Wednesday, displaying hours of security camera footage, police body cameras, newscasts, and cell phone videos filmed by the protesters themselves.

Biden, who has been silent on the arguments of the trial, seeking not to overshadow his quest to approve an economic stimulus package and his renewed fight against the covid-19 pandemic, said he did not follow “any of the live hearings.” But he did watch the news coverage of the case presentation, which saw top politicians fleeing to safety as an enraged crowd fueled by Trump’s rhetoric swept through the halls of Congress. The chaos left five dead, including a woman shot dead after storming the Capitol and a police officer killed by the mob.

RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES

The January 6 riot broke out after Trump held a rally to repeat his baseless accusations that Biden stole his re-election by manipulating the votes and that Vice President Mike Pence had to do something to prevent confirmation of the result. Pence, who had already stated that he had no legal authority to stop certification, became the target of the crowd’s ire. Video released by Democrats on Wednesday showed protesters shouting insults and declaring Pence a traitor. Some of the more dramatic segments, with footage never before broadcast in public, made it clear to the senators, serving as jury at the trial, that their own lives had been in danger that day. Pence could be seen being hastily evacuated by security officers down the back stairs of the building and the leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, narrowly dodging a riotous crowd of pro-Trump protesters, while Republican Senator Mitt Romney, highly critical of Trump and object of his hatred, he was protected by agent Eugene Goodman, celebrated for facing the mob.

It was also seen how the excited crowd stormed the offices of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Democratic leader, also a frequent target of Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric. “Nancy, where are you, Nancy?” Protesters screamed as they searched for her, unaware that eight of their employees were barricaded behind a door in the same hallway. Pelosi had already been evacuated in a hurry. We know from the same protesters that if they had found Pelosi, they would have killed her,” said Stacey Plaskett, one of the Democratic prosecutors and a delegate to the House of Representatives for the US Virgin Islands.

REPUBLICANS LOYAL UNTIL NOW

Locked up in his luxurious Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump will not appear to testify and has remained silent. But the impeachment has put the former president once again at the center of the national debate, underscoring his control based on the Republican electorate. Some Republican senators have voiced their distaste for the Trump riot and openly criticized Trump’s refusal to accept Biden’s defeat. They have also recognized the compelling case made by the Democrats. The evidence that has been presented so far is quite damning, “said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.” Of course, they are powerful, “Sen. Bill Cassidy said of the chilling images, but” how that influences decisions remains to be seen. finals, “he said.

Still, it is highly unlikely that Trump will be convicted, for which 17 Republican senators would have to agree with all 50 Democrats. “I think in the end there will be no 67 votes to convict the president,” Republican strategist Karl Rove told Fox News on Thursday. But he anticipated that “any Republican running for the 2022 election in a difficult district or state is likely to see this video used against him. According to press reports, Trump was furious on Tuesday, the day of the trial, for what he considered a mediocre performance of his lawyers. Unlike Trump’s first impeachment trial a year ago, which lasted three weeks, this one is expected to end in a few days.