The President of the United States of America has been impeached, an event that cannot but bear on the fountain-head of democracy. Donald Trump’s curriculum vitiae has thus been blighted beyond measure in a largely partisan vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening. It has happened prior to the third anniversary of his impetuous Presidency and will almost certainly dampen the traditional Christmas-New Year jollity. To that extent, the roast turkey and plum pudding may be less than palatable, running counter to the flavour of the season.

In the immediate perspective, the doughty Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has had her way, though the average American is unlikely to agree that the margin ~ the House voted 230-197 ~ is formidable. Nor is it fragile in the manner of the Brexit referendum. After a full day of debate, the House voted to approve what they call a “first article of impeachment” that charged Trump with abuse of power, with one “present” vote. A second article, charging the President with obstruction of Congress, was approved 229- 198. He thus becomes the third President to be impeached in US history, arguably a testament to the inherent resilience of democracy.

Trump now faces a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, one that is expected to begin early next month and to result in an acquittal of the President. “This lawless partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat party,” was Trump’s response at a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, in the immediate aftermath of the vote. Not quite. The development lends no scope for dumbing down, let alone an essay towards bowdlerisation when American history gets updated.

Facts are sacred, though Tuesday’s impeachment has been a predominantly Democratic offensive. Interest will now be riveted to the counter-mobilisation by the Republicans in the party-controlled Senate. Tuesday was, by any reckoning, a “sad day” for the country, in the words of Ms Pelosi. It now becomes pretty obvious that the President’s reckless activities necessitated the House of Representatives to introduce the articles of impeachment. The Speaker has been diplomatic enough not to definitively commit on sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate or even to name the impeachment managers of the House who will present the case against Trump to the Senate.

“We cannot name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side,” she said. “So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us.” The outcome of the proceedings, notably the Senate vote, must remain open to question. The legislative dichotomy has been one of the conundrums of governance. Suffice it to register that the republic is under threat of what Ms Pelosi calls “actions from the White House”, now in conflict with Capitol Hill. On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump was in part a victim of that legislative dichotomy. The Democrats have won the first round.