One thing that came up loud and fucking clear that was never addressed by either party was the fact that a private citizen can't be impeached. At no point did the Dems explain their reasoning beyond "orange man bad". And the Trump team remained very coy on this issue as well. Trump referred to it as another hoax, but he never specifically pointed out that he was no longer President (as far as I recall. If I missed a statement that debunks this theory, please let me know). I know his lawyers made those statements, but looking back they seemed to be making them in an attempt to goad Dems into making an admission that would snowball everything.
Of course they didn't, still tried the Shampeachment and lost. But why did they still try it? Because they know he's secret President and were trying to use the system to legally remove Trump despite him activating emergency powers. Obviously that failed. Anyway, I just realized that the fake impeachment and further bastardization of our system actually tells us a lot more about what is happening than we realized and it pretty much vindicates the devolution theory. You can't impeach a private citizen and they did anyway... or did they? Most normies assume it didn't matter or that the Dems are just out of control... which they are but I do believe they were operating within the confines of the Constitution. Ethically speaking they are morally bankrupt. And our Impeachment system should prevent partyline peach minting. A 2/3rds majority should be required in both House and Senate, but that's another discussion.
But he wasn't after the 20th. Trial didn't conclude until February.