Peter Westmacott Reacts to Trump Acquittal

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Let me put it to the test, then. What do you think — no diplomacy, no punches pulled — about the acquittal in the Senate of President Trump?

PETER WESTMACOTT, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: I personally have a little bit of a problem with the word acquittal, because, in fact, a majority did vote to convict him, but it just wasn’t enough for it to be conviction. So, technically, you’re right, but let’s not forget the way in which there was a bigger majority and more bipartisan than we have seen any similar vote of this kind American political history, actually. So, what did I think about it? I think what it showed was that, despite all the talk about the checks and balances and how marvelous it is that democracy in America survived this onslaught, in fact, I think the checks and balances were a little precarious. That is to say that Congress did not stand up to the executive in the way that the founding fathers had intended. There were divided votes, of course, but there were an awful lot of people in the Congress, particularly on the Republican — in fact, only on the Republican side, who felt strongly that they had to support the president, even if they felt that he had behaved very badly, in terms of seeking to overturn the result of the election, when the people of America voted for somebody else on the 3rd of November. And I think also, we have to bear in mind that the Supreme Court, which is the other third pillar, if you like, of the separation of powers under the American Constitution, has become over the years much more politicized than it was. We only have to look at the way in which Republicans prevented Obama from having hearings for his candidate and got through a number of their own candidates under President Trump. So, the Supreme Court now looks more politicized, I would say, than it ever has before, although let’s admit it hasn’t yet been tested to see whether it’s going to stand up for the institution of the Supreme Court, rather than be a political institution in its own right. So, I’m a bit more with President Biden that it’s fragile, democracy, rather than that it’s all fine, despite the little kerfuffle of the last few weeks, which was Boris Johnson’s language.