As American's await President Donald Trump's fourth State of the Union address tonight, some editorials have offered their thoughts on his reign and impeachment saga.
However, the Brexit debate is never far from media comment.
The Guardian
The line that best sums up last week's Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump probably comes from the lips of Omar Little, the stick up artist who robs drugs dealers in HBO's the Wire.
"You come at the king," warned Mr Little "you best not miss." The truth came for Mr Trump but after the smoke cleared on Friday, the president was still standing. He remains in the Oval Office because almost every Republican senator preferred being in power to upholding the democratic principles upon which the US was founded. By Wednesday Mr Trump will have defied justice. He will then be free to continue his campaign of grievance and resentment safe in the knowledge that there is no genuine check on his executive overreach.
It goes on to say this week Mr Trump will deliver the State of the Union address from the House chamber where he was impeached in December. He could use the presidency as a bully pulpit to bring out the best in civic life. But he will not. The president wants voters less interested in integrity and empathy. Mr Trump will speak of a "great American comeback." Ever the malignant narcissist, the reference will surely and unmistakably be to himself rather than the country.
The Times
It's editorial says to remove Mr Trump from office his accusers needed to show him guilty of "high crime and misdemeanor," which is a lofty bar.
In order to make their case, to the American people as much as to the Senate itself, Mr Trump's accusers sought to subpoena further documents and witnesses, perhaps subjecting the latter to televised hearings. "We must hear from those who were 'in the room where it happened'," was how the House impeachment manager Sylvia Garcia put it on Friday, with the last phrase referencing the title of a new book by Mr Tump's former national security adviser, John Bolton. Leaked extracts from Mr Bolton's book appear to support allegations against the president, but the Republican-dominated Senate voted against calling new witnesses. As a result they are almost certain to vote for Mr Trump's acquittal this week.
The Telegraph
Within days of leaving amid expressions of regret from around Europe, the gloves have come off as Brussels seeks to make clear that the UK's departure has consequences.
The first is expected to be a repudiation by the EU of any move towards a Canada-style trade deal and an insistence that single market rules and regulations are followed after the transition period.
No 10 is accusing Brussels of unilaterally changing the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. If Brussels is reneging on its side of the deal then the UK should withhold the money promised as an integral part of the divorce until they abide by it.
The Scotsman
It's editorial focusses on Brexit in the aftermath of Friday's departure from the EU at 11pm. It says nothing is over, in fact the uncertainty is only just beginning and the true impact of Brexit has merely been postponed until the end of the year.
Johnson will kick off the truly terrifying prospect of trying to complete a complicated trade deal with the EU in less than a year today with a typically bullish speech.
He will tell the EU that he is prepared to accept border checks in a no-deal scenario, no alignment, no jurisdiction of the European courts and no concessions to any Brussels' demands when talks start in March.
The Prime Minister is still playing his greatest hits to his hardline Brexiteer audience.
And why not, you may, as it has served him so well and indeed returned his party to government with a thumping majority in the Commons. But while this tactic will continue to be lapped up by the faithful, attention must now turn to securing the best possible future relationship with our European neighbours and preparing for an exit in 2021 which will cause the least damage to our economy.
Farage and co have their blue passports, we do not need to pretend any more that severing all ties is in either the UK or the EU's interest.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel