2020 was … something else, to say the very least. Former President Donald Trump was impeached twice and acquitted both times. After the first impeachment trial, COVID-19 kicked off with a quarantine on March 13, 2020. Finally, we got the results from the primary—Joe Biden won the Democratic primary and the general election, becoming the President of the United States on January 20, 2021. Three major things that occurred in 2020/2021 were the two impeachment trials of Former President Donald J. Trump, the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19), and the 2020 presidential election. 

First, we kick off 2020 with the initial impeachment of Former President Donald J. Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives with a vote of 230-197 (Article I, abuse of power) and 229-196 (Article II, obstruction of Congress) (Fandos and Shear). The Senate acquitted Donald Trump with a vote of 48-52 (Article I, abuse of power) and 47-53 (Article II, obstruction of Congress). Merely a year later, Former President Donald J. Trump was yet again impeached by the House of Representatives; this time for the incitement of insurrection at the Capitol building—of which, 5 people died (Fandos). The House of Representatives impeached the former president with a vote of 223-205-5 (223 for, 205 against, and 5 abstained). The Senate yet again acquitted the former president with a vote of 57-43 (67 needed). The former president was impeached twice and acquitted both times, making him the first president in US history to be impeached twice.

Nearly a month after Trump was acquitted from his first impeachment, the coronavirus pandemic kicked off in the United States, forcing many people into quarantine on March 13, 2020. Masks became mandatory in public areas such as grocery stores, parks, restaurants, schools, etc. However, that did not stop people from refusing to wear masks. Many people have gone further into debt as jobs were downsized, the onset of depression has taken its toll on many teenagers and students. Said anti-maskers are refusing to believe in the sound science of the many vaccines for the coronavirus. The mRNA vaccine is probably the most well-known and proven vaccine (CDC). The mRNA enters the cell and is used to encode the spike proteins at the ribosomes. This spike protein is harmless to humans. This will allow for the immune system to build a defense to help prevent the coronavirus from entering our cells.

And finally, the 2020 presidential election… This truly made our year with all of the drama that came with it. Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the Democratic primaries becoming the Democratic nominee for the general election, facing off against President Donald Trump. On August 11, 2020, Nominee Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris (a former candidate) as his Vice President. Come election day, the results were close, and the projected results didn’t come until days later. Biden-Harris eventually won, and became the [Vice] President-Elect, waiting to take the oath of office of the [Vice] President of the United States (CBS News). However, during the lame-duck period, Trump and his supporters refused to believe he lost the election. It went as far as the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, leading to Trump’s second impeachment for inciting the insurrection. Overall, the election was drama-filled, chaotic, and terrifying to watch.

As you can tell, this moment in history is a mess. With the two impeachments, the coronavirus, and the aftermath of the presidential election—among many other things—this year has been a mess. Few others may disagree with how this past year went, but most people agree that 2020 has been the worst year in world history since the great depression/WWII. We all hope that 2021 and the decade following will be much better than the dreadful year that was 2020.

Works Cited

CBS News. “The Election Aftermath, and the Power of the Vote.” Cbsnews.com, 8 Nov. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/the-election-aftermath-and-the-power-of-the-vote/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

CDC. “Understanding MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Feb. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

Fandos, Nicholas. “Trump Impeached for Inciting Insurrection.” The New York Times, 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

Fandos, Nicholas, and Michael Shear. “Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress (Published 2019).” The New York Times, 2021, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/trump-impeached.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.