RMIT expert available for comment on impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump
An expert from RMIT University is available to talk to media about the impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump and the possible implications for Australia.
Dr Emma Shortis (0430 358 798 or emma.shortis@rmit.edu.au)
Topics: US history, US politics, Trump administration, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s US visit
“Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has announced that the Democrats will pursue the impeachment of US President Donald Trump.
“It was always likely that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s US visit would be overshadowed by one controversy or another, but I don’t think anyone predicted it would be at quite this scale.
“Morrison’s visit, which has so far largely been regarded as a success in the eyes of the Australian government, will now forever be overshadowed by this cataclysmic event.
“Cosying up to such a controversial president was always a risk. But now, Morrison may forever be remembered as the Australian PM who was there when impeachment proceedings began against the most controversial president in American history.
“The significance of the Democrats’ plans cannot be underestimated. Impeachment proceedings will plague Trump for months, at least all the way up to the election next year and overshadow everything from now on.
“Impeachment is a rare event in American history, regarded as something of a last resort. The Democrats’ reluctance to pursue it until now shows just how seriously they are taking these allegations of misconduct.
“This will be an enormous test, not only for the Democrats, but for the entire American political system. How this plays out will have implications far beyond Trump.”
Dr Emma Shortis is a Research Fellow at the EU Centre in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. She previously spent a year in the United States, where she was a Fox-Zucker International Fellow at Yale University as part of her PhD in history. Shortis is regular media commentator on the history and current politics of the US, and co-host of RMIT’s new Barely Gettin’ By podcast.
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