Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Donald Trump is unlikely to lose his job despite ongoing impeachment proceedings against him.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, President Putin described the Trump impeachment process as the “continuation of domestic political infighting” in the United States.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted almost entirely along party lines to pass two articles of impeachment charging Donald Trump with abusing power and obstructing Congress. This refers to Trump’s request for Ukraine to investigate the family of Joe Biden, a leading 2020 Democratic hopeful and his potential rival, and his stonewalling of House Democrats as they launched a probe into the affair.
“As for the extension of our dialogue [with the United States] before the end of Trump’s presidency, it seems as if you are already raising the question that it would end,” Putin noted.
“I am not sure about this, it [the impeachment process] still needs to go through the Senate, where the Republicans constitute, as far as I know, a majority... It is just a continuation of the domestic political struggle and a party that lost the election strives to achieve results through other means. First, by accusing Trump of conspiracy with Russia, then it turns out that there was no conspiracy and now the pressure is on Ukraine.”
The Senate is set to try Trump next year and vote on whether to remove him from office. A two-thirds vote is required for the motion to pass. The Republicans, who have a majority in the Senate, are widely expected to be solidly behind their leader, which renders the chances of Trump’ removal happening very unlikely.
