The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump exemplified the tribal partisanship that has plagued contemporary American politics. The Senate’s vote to acquit the President without including witnesses in his trial is the culmination of the severe problems that exist within our democracy.

There is no question that Trump used the power of his office in order to gain an advantage in the 2020 election. The evidence that Trump committed abuse of power begins with a phone call on July 25th, 2019 when Trump asked Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor.” That ́favor” was an investigation into Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, and his involvement with a Ukranian gas company called Burisma.

No facts supporting any wrongdoing by Hunter Biden have surfaced. However, the intention of President Trump was clearly to imply wrongdoing on behalf of Hunter Biden in order to embroil Joe Biden in scandal and hurt his presidential campaign.

Our president solicited aid from a foreign country for help to win an election, and most likely put pressure on Ukraine to comply by withholding military aid. On that exact day, less than two hours after the phone call took place, the Office of Management and Budget ordered the Defense Department to suspend all military aid that was supposed to be given to Ukraine.

It is true that the Trump administration had inquired about suspending aid to Ukraine in the weeks leading up to this phone call. However, the President’s decision to cut off almost $400 million in aid became official after requesting political favors. This strongly suggests that Trump was pressuring Ukraine to comply. On top of this, according to the New York Times, President Trump told former national security advisor John Bolton that he wanted to continue to freeze aid to Ukraine until they helped with investigation into the Biden family. Trump released aid to Ukraine on September 11th, only after the whistleblower complaint had been publicized.

Throughout his life Donald Trump has been the antithesis of integrity, and this has not changed since he became President. Nevertheless, the Republicans’ disregard of the Constitution is even more frightening.

Republicans made no effort to hide their loyalty to Trump over justice. “Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean that it is in the best interest of the country to remove a president from office,” said Senator Marco Rubio. “I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, who was more explicit in his opinion of the issue.

Republican Senators saw the glaring evidence illustrating Trump’s crimes, and discarded it to protect the President even if it meant sacrificing the truth. They did not even allow witnesses, such as John Bolton, to come and testify before the Senate.

One could make an argument that the Democrats were guilty of political games themselves in their efforts to impeach the President. However, the Democrats have at least remained committed to the constitutional process. There is strong indication that Mr. Trump broke the law, and the Democrats have merely done their job in attempting to uphold the constitution of the United States by impeaching President Trump.

“This is why, if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters. And the truth matters. Otherwise we are lost,” said Chairman of the House Intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, in a powerful speech to the Senate. This message has been forgotten by the Republicans who are dishonoring the government not only in the eyes of its constituents, but in the eyes of the world.

Republican senators have offered the rationalization that Trump learned his lesson from being impeached in the house. “I believe that the President has learned from this case,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins. This clearly was not the case. The day after his acquittal Trump fired Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland, two faithful government officials who had told the truth as witnesses during the impeachment hearings.

In addition, Trump tweeted his disapproval of the federal prosecutors’ recommendation that Roger Stone, his longtime friend, should serve 7-9 years in prison. This prompted Attorney General William Barr to intervene in an effort to reduce the sentence. Considering that Stone was convicted of seven felonies, including witness tampering and lying to Congress, Trump’s use of his influential power to impede the judicial process further exemplifies his willingness to continue to abuse his power.

Abandonment of justice in the name of partisan politics is a terrifying sight to see, but unfortunately it has become a reality for our nation. From gerrymandering to Supreme Court Justice confirmations, party lines have divided our government. Both parties are guilty of this, but Republicans have lifted it to a new, frightening height.

As Republicans were faced with a chance to do what was right in the name of the law they looked away without even making an effort at a fair trial. These decisions by the Republicans not only embolden Donald Trump to abuse his power, but set a precedent for a future America, where the tenets of the honest democracy that it was founded upon become nonexistent.