How Trump and his supporters will use the president's acquittal

News analysis: Buckle up for an ugly, ill-tempered election campaign

For an insight into Donald Trump and the White House will use the president’s impeachment acquittal by the Senate and the “disloyalty” of Mitt Romney, look not further than their official Twitter feeds.

Within moments of the Senate voting along party lines, with Romney’s exception, not to find Trump guilty on the two articles passed by the House, the president and his team were attacking the Utah senator, and reposting a Time magazine front cover suggesting the president’s influence in office would linger long after he was gone.

The president also announced he would be making a noon statement on the issue on Thursday, one that will likely dominate the day’s news agenda.

Get ready, then, for an ugly, ill-tempered election campaign in which the president will bully and attack his rivals and critics, use the “witch hunt” to energise and fire up his supporters, and made full use of the powers of the presidency to launch the kind of partisan attacks we did not see before Trump won office.

Expect lot more talk of shams, and lies and attempts to overturn “the results of the 2016 election”.

How might be expect supporters of Trump, presently basking in an approval rating of 49 per cent, to respond to all of this?

The Independent had a good insight last week when talking to fans of the president lined up on an icy night in Des Moines, Iowa, to hear the president deliver a raucous, hour-long campaign rally.

To a man and a woman, they said they had felt determined to come and display solidarity with the president, because of the actions of the Democrats.

Kevin Ficus, a farmer who grows corn, soybeans, beet and hay, said of the efforts to impeach him over allegations he sought a quid pro quo from Ukraine in exchange for the provision of military aid: “I think it’s a sham, just like he says.”

Steve Kivi, a deputy sheriff, said he would score the president 10 out of 10 for the three years he had already served in office.

“I don’t think we’re in denial,” he said. “We’re realistic and aware of the facts. The vast majority of the public is being mislead.”

Michelle Haan, 57, from Des Moines, said Democrats and others were desperate to get rid of Trump because they could not beat him at the ballot box.

“He’s trying to drain Washington DC and the swamp,” she said. “And the swamp doesn’t like. Democrats can say what they want, but I am not buying it.”

“Oh, he’ll get reelected – 100 per cent,” said Tony Bailey, 46, a corrections officer from the town of Roland,

Perhaps as few as six to eight states will decide the outcome out the 2020 race. The president intends to spend millions and millions of dollars to try and hang onto the narrow path to victory, that allowed him to stun Hillary Clinton and Democrats in 2016.

Moments after Wednesday’s vote, the president and Republicans, were using it to try and raise money.

“Washington Democrats and the lamestream media have spent the last three years trying to overturn the 2016 election only to have FAILED,” he said in a fundraising email. “They’ve been after me since the day I was elected and they have absolutely NOTHING to show for it except millions of wasted taxpayer dollars.”

He added: “I’ve requested a list of every Patriot who donates today. I’m counting on you at this critical time to step up. I know you’ve never let me down before.”