The Senate cleared Former President Trump of triggering the riot on the Capitol  grounds on January 6 and proclaimed him not guilty. The House managers and defense attorneys provided evidence and claimed to support their positions during Trump’s second impeachment trial, which lasted five days. The trial came after a long day of deliberations about whether or not to include witnesses at the trial, along with both sides’ closing arguments.

Representative Jamie Raskin, the House lead impeachment manager, announced at the start of the trial that the managers intended to question Jaime Herrera Beutler, who exposed a conversation between Kevin McCarthy and the former president. In the exposed conversation, Trump stated that the rioters cared more about the election outcome than McCarthy did.

“Trump’s team was disorganized, they did everything they could but talk about the question at hand. And when they talked about it, they kind of glided over it, almost as if they were embarrassed by their arguments,” GOP senate Bill Cassidy said.

After Democrats concluded their arguments, Trump’s lawyers used a smattering of approaches. They argued that Trumps’ trial seemed unnecessary since he already left the office and that his speech did not encourage violence. During the presentation on Friday, Trump’s lawyers argued that it made him a victim of “constitutional cancel culture,” an attempt to distort the case against Trump and obscure the unique context in which he urged supporters to disrupt the US government’s actions as it promoted a peaceful transition of power.

With Mr. Trump’s acquittal by the Senate, he seems free to run for office again, including in the 2024 presidential election. Trump also retains his former president’s perks, which include an annual pension, up to $219,200 per year in annual travel costs, and a lifetime Secret Service security detail.

In short, Mr. Trump thanked Republicans who stood by him, he expressed no remorse and did not mention the violence that unfolded in his name, but signaled his desire to remain a political force within the party.

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,” Trump said.