Welcome to Season 2 of Political Nightmare. [Ethan Clarke]

In Season 1, we followed Donald Trump’s chaotic journey from the golden escalator in 2015 all the way through four turbulent years in the White House, ending with the violence of January 6, 2021. Now we pick up the story exactly where we left off — in the bitter final days of his first presidency.

This is the story of Trump’s painful exit from power, the second impeachment, and the moment many believed marked the end of his political career.

January 2021 began with raw tension still hanging over Washington. Just days after the January 6 riot at the Capitol, the House of Representatives moved with extraordinary speed. On January 13, only one week after the attack, lawmakers voted to impeach Donald Trump for a second time. The charge was “incitement of insurrection.” Ten Republicans joined every Democrat in voting yes, making Trump the only president in American history to be impeached twice.

The article accused Trump of repeatedly claiming the 2020 election had been stolen, pressuring state officials, and then delivering a fiery speech on January 6 that encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol. Democrats argued his words directly fueled the mob that stormed the building. Trump’s defenders called the impeachment a rushed act of political revenge, insisting his speech had called for a peaceful and patriotic protest.

While the House acted quickly, the real drama shifted to the Senate. Trump’s second impeachment trial began on February 9, 2021 — after he had already left office. It was the first time in history a former president faced an impeachment trial. The proceedings were short but intense. House impeachment managers presented video footage of the Capitol riot, showing rioters chanting and breaking windows while lawmakers hid. Trump’s legal team argued that the Senate no longer had jurisdiction over a former president and that Trump’s words were protected political speech.

On February 13, the Senate voted. Fifty-seven senators found Trump guilty — including seven Republicans. It was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history. But it still fell ten votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict. Trump was acquitted once again.

Even as the trial unfolded, Trump was already gone from Washington. On January 20, 2021, he boarded Air Force One one last time as president. He flew to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida instead of attending Joe Biden’s inauguration — breaking a long-standing tradition of the peaceful transfer of power. In a farewell speech at Joint Base Andrews, Trump told supporters, “We will be back in some form.” Many took those words as a promise.

The final days carried heavy consequences. Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook, and other major platforms in the wake of January 6. Major companies cut ties with his businesses. Several high-profile Republicans distanced themselves from him. For the first time since 2015, Trump seemed politically isolated. Pundits and analysts across the spectrum declared his time in national politics over. Some even speculated the Republican Party would move on without him.

But Trump refused to fade away. From Mar-a-Lago, he began holding private meetings and issuing statements attacking the new Biden administration. He continued to insist the 2020 election had been stolen, keeping that message alive among his core supporters. Despite the bans and the legal clouds hanging over him, his grip on the Republican base remained remarkably strong.

The bitter farewell of January 2021 marked the lowest point of Trump’s political life up to that moment. He left office under two impeachments, with the Capitol riot hanging over his legacy. Yet even in defeat, the seeds of a comeback were already being planted.

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