HYGO News Jim Jordan's statement on 2nd Trump impeachment
Jim Jordan’s Statement on Second Trump Impeachment
On January 13, 2021, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) delivered a forceful speech on the House floor opposing the second impeachment of President Donald Trump. Jordan argued that the impeachment was the culmination of a four-year effort by Democrats to remove Trump from office, beginning 19 minutes into his presidency when the Washington Post published a headline stating that the “campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.” Jordan called the proceedings politically motivated, warned against what he described as an expanding “cancel culture,” and urged Congress to focus on unifying the country instead. The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats.
The “19 Minutes” Argument
Jordan built his speech around a recurring theme: that Democrats had been trying to remove Trump from office since the earliest moments of his presidency and had never relented.
“19 minutes, 19 minutes, four years ago on inauguration day, January 20th, 2017, 19 minutes into President Trump’s administration at 12:19 PM, the Washington Post headline was, ‘Campaign to impeach President Trump has begun,’” Jordan said. “And now with just one week left, they’re still trying.”
He framed the second impeachment as the latest in a series of attempts to remove or undermine Trump, citing the investigation into Russian interference (“three-year Mueller investigation, 19 lawyers, 40 agents, 500 witnesses, 2,500 subpoenas, $40 million to find nothing”), the first impeachment (“based on an anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge who was biased against the President and who worked for Joe Biden”), and surveillance of Trump’s campaign.
“It’s always been about getting the President no matter what. It’s an obsession,” Jordan said.
Trump’s Record
Jordan listed what he characterized as Trump’s accomplishments to argue that the real motivation behind impeachment was opposition to the president’s policies. He cited tax cuts, deregulation, the pre-COVID economy with the lowest unemployment in 50 years, withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, the return of hostages from North Korea, three Supreme Court justices, a renegotiated NAFTA agreement, the Abraham Accords, the COVID vaccine, and construction of the border wall.
“Why? Why? Politics and the fact that they want to cancel the President,” Jordan said.
The Cancel Culture Warning
Jordan expanded his argument beyond impeachment to what he described as a broader threat to free speech and open debate. He drew comparisons between the treatment of Republicans and Democrats, arguing that a double standard was being applied.
“The Ayatollah can tweet, the President can’t,” Jordan said, referencing Trump’s suspension from social media platforms in the days following January 6. “Democrats can object on January 6th, 2017, but Republicans aren’t allowed to object on January 6th, 2021. Democrats say, ‘ANTIFA is a myth.’ Republicans condemn all violence, all the time.”
He warned that the “cancel culture” would eventually consume everyone, not just Republicans or the president. “Do you have a functioning first amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can’t even have a debate in this country, this great country, the greatest country ever, it needs to stop. Because if it continues, it won’t just be Republicans who get canceled. It won’t just be the President of the United States. The cancel culture will come for us all.”
Appeal to American Greatness
Jordan closed his speech with an appeal to American ingenuity and unity, tracing the arc from the Wright brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier 44 years later to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon 22 years after that.
“In one lifetime. In 66 years, two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the moon. That’s what this country is capable of,” Jordan said. “And we, as the Congress who represent the people who did that, should start leading.”
He concluded by expressing hope that the impeachment would be defeated and that Congress could “begin to come together and recognize the greatness of the American people and focus on the things they want us to focus on.”
Key Takeaways
- Jim Jordan argued that the second Trump impeachment was the culmination of a four-year Democratic effort to remove the president, beginning 19 minutes into his presidency and continuing through the Mueller investigation and the first impeachment.
- Jordan listed Trump’s policy achievements to frame the impeachment as politically motivated opposition to the president’s agenda rather than a genuine response to the Capitol breach.
- He warned that “cancel culture” was expanding beyond Trump to threaten free speech for all Americans, citing the president’s social media suspensions and what he called a double standard in how political objections were treated.
- The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats in the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history.
Full Transcript
Jim Jordan:
19 minutes, 19 minutes, four years ago on inauguration day, January 20th, 2017, 19 minutes into President Trump’s administration at 12:19 PM, the Washington Post headline was, “Campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.” And now with just one week left, they’re still trying. In seven days, there will be a peaceful transfer of power, just like there has been every other time in our country, but Democrats are going to impeach President Trump, again.
This doesn’t unite the country. There’s no way this helps the nation deal with the tragic and terrible events of last week that we all condemn, and Republicans have been consistent. We’ve condemned all the violence, all the time. We condemned it last summer. We condemned it last week. We should be focused on bringing the nation together. Instead, Democrats are going to impeach the President for a second time, one week, one week before he leaves office.
Why? Why? Politics and the fact that they want to cancel the President. The President who cut taxes. The President who reduced regulations. The President, prior to COVID, had the greatest economy, lowest unemployment in 50 years. The President who got us out of the Iran deal, put the embassy in Jerusalem, brought hostages home from North Korea. Put three great justices on the Supreme Court, gave us a new NAFTA agreement. The Abraham Accords, the COVID vaccine, and who built the wall.
It’s about politics. This is about getting the president of the United States. They spied on his campaign before he was elected, 19 minutes into his presidency they started the impeachment push three-year Mueller investigation, 19 lawyers, 40 agents, 500 witnesses, 2,500 subpoenas, $40 million to find nothing. Impeachment round one, based on an anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge who was biased against the President and who worked for Joe Biden. Now, it’s impeachment round two.
It’s always been about getting the President no matter what. It’s an obsession. An obsession that has now broadened. It’s not just about impeachment anymore. It’s about canceling, as I’ve said. Canceling the President and anyone that disagrees with them. The Ayatollah can tweet, the President can’t. Democrats can object on January 6th, 2017, but Republicans aren’t allowed to object on January 6th, 2021. Democrats say, “ANTIFA is a myth.” Republicans condemn all violence, all the time.
The double standard has to stop. And frankly, the attack on the first amendment has to stop. And stop and think about it. Do you have a functioning first amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can’t even have a debate in this country, this great country, the greatest country ever, it needs to stop.
Because if it continues, it won’t just be Republicans who get canceled. It won’t just be the President of the United States. The cancel culture will come for us all.
America’s a great country, the greatest country ever. It seems to me, we need to think about how great the people of this nation really are. Think about what we’ve accomplished in the past and begin to come together, as leaders who represent so many great folks across our districts. Think about this. Think about this, in 1903, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two guys fly this thing they called a plane 100 feet, barely got off the ground, barely got off the ground. Amazing thing.
44 years later, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier. In 44 years, we go from two guys flying a contraption they call it a plane, a few 100 feet, to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier. And 22 years after that, 22 years after that, another American steps on the moon. Think about it. In one lifetime. In 66 years, two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the moon. That’s what this country is capable of. That’s what we can do.
And we, as the Congress who represent the people who did that, should start leading. Should start understanding what really is going on here. So I hope, I hope we defeat this. I hope we can begin to come together and recognize the greatness of the American people and focus on the things they want us to focus on.