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Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins

Politics Monday: How Will The Public - And History - Judge Trump's Second Impeachment Acquittal?

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Chris Miller / WFAE

The historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump reached its conclusion Saturday with yet another Trump acquittal.

The U.S. Senate – and America – spent the past week reliving the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection that targeted the very legislators who sat in judgment of Trump.

Acquittal was always seen as a foregone conclusion, but historians say focusing on the outcome misses the larger point of the proceedings.

"We're not going to remember Trump for being impeached for inciting a riot and sedition," said presidential historian Jeffrey Engel. "We're going to remember Donald Trump for inciting a riot and sedition."

GUESTS

Michael Bitzer, Catawba College, chair of the Department of Politics and professor of history and politics; manages the Old North State Politics blog (@BowTiePolitics)

Jeffrey Engel, Southern Methodist University, founding director of the Center for Presidential History; co-author of “Impeachment: An American History” (@jeffreyaengel)

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A veteran of Charlotte radio news, Chris joined the "Charlotte Talks" staff in January 2016, but has been listening to WFAE since discovering the station as a high schooler.