President Trump has been in the headlines almost every week since his election. The trend continues this month after information surfaced accusing Trump of violating laws by asking a Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine,  to perform an on one Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden that, if completed, could give him a political advantage. 

On Jul. 5, President Trump participated in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. An official reconstructed transcript of the call shows that  Zelensky repeatedly praised Trump before Trump requested that Zelensky carry out an investigation on Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky to look into some business dealings Biden’s son had carried out in Ukraine with the help of the US Attorney General’s Office. Trump also requested information from Zelensky that could undermine information gained from the 2016 investigation into Russain hacking of the presidential election. 

Trump has adamantly denied that this request was illegal or a coercive blackmail attempt into gaining valuable campaign knowledge for his reelection. Zelensky also told various news sources that he felt no pressure from Trump to actually carry out the request. However, the fact that a sitting US President requested a foreign power look into a matter pertaining to his own political interests has prompted the beginning of an impeachment inquiry in Congress. In the most recent development of this ongoing investigation, two men accused of helping attorney Rudi Gulliani investigate Biden and his son’s dealings in Ukraine were arrested under campaign finance laws last Wednesday. 

At Saint Paul Academy, several students offer their own insights, commentary, and opinion about what happened. 

Senior Josh Mietz believes what Trump did is an impeachable offense. “[What Trump did] is using his position in office to further his campaign, in other words, he’s using office to benefit privately,” said Mietz, “That is the definition of graft, which is impeachable.”

Sophomore Ellie Dawson-Moore believes the Ukraine scandal is different from any other allegation that has come out against the Trump Administration. “The difference this time is that Republicans really don’t have plausible deniability,” she said, “Collusion could be covered up with Russia, the stuff with him breaking the emoluments clause [accepting bribes from other countries], all of that can be argued. This is on a different scale.” 

Dawson-Moore isn’t sure, however, how this will affect Trump’s re-election campaign “The thing with Trump is he isn’t a politician, he’s a showman first and foremost,” she said. Dawson-Moore goes went on to describe her opinion on how the next election in relation to the Ukraine call will affect our political future. She said, “I really hope everything going on with Ukraine deters voters, but if it doesn’t we will look back on this election as a huge low point for American politics on both sides of the aisle.” 

Junior Levi Mellin is in agreement with his classmates that the phone call offers reasonable ground for presidential impeachment. However, he shares a different perspective on how it will affect Trump’s re-election campaign. He believes if Trump escapes the inquiry unharmed, it could even benefit his public image. Mellin said, “If the House goes through the impeachment process and they find him not guilty, I believe it will strengthen his campaign for the next election.”  

Junior Isabelle Wolpert believes the impeachment inquiry is representative of an accumulation of many allegations against the president. Wolpert said, “I don’t want to say it’s an overreaction but everything that [Trump] has done to upset the democratic party has added up and now they want him gone.”  

Regardless of how the situation plays out, with the 2020 election just around the corner, all eyes will be on the president to see how he handles the latest scandal facing him and his administration.