Washington: Anyone under the illusion Democrats believe they are onto a political winner by impeaching Donald Trump should look at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's actions on Tuesday (Wednesday Australian time).

The day began with Pelosi and her senior colleagues unveiling their articles of impeachment against Trump. It was a historic moment: just the fourth time such steps have been taken against a US president.

“The President has engaged in abuse of power undermining our national security and jeopardising the integrity of our elections,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Credit:AP

It was also a pivotal step in the current impeachment process. The impeachment articles represent the Democrats' crystallised case of why Trump's behaviour towards Ukraine was not only objectionable but unconstitutional – so egregious, in fact, he must be removed from office.

Yet just an hour later, Pelosi held another press conference – this time, to announce she had reached a deal with the White House on an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The revised trade pact, known as the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), had been stalled in Congress for a year. Yet Pelosi chose to wave it through on the same morning she announced the impeachment articles against Trump.

Not even Bill Heslop, the philandering father in Muriel's Wedding, could pass that off as a coincidence.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California not discussing impeachment but trade.Credit:AP

The impeachment articles themselves display the speaker's risk-averse approach.

There are just two of them: fewer than have been proposed in any past presidential impeachment.

And they are written with a tight focus on Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine and his attempts to obstruct the impeachment inquiry itself.

There's no mention of bribery or extortion – charges the Democrats publicly toyed during the hearings but decided they couldn't justify. Trump's alleged attempts to obstruct the Mueller investigation into Russian election interference didn’t make the cut either.

Pelosi is a shrewd operator who will almost certainly marshal the votes necessary for impeachment.

It's a punishment Democrats believe they are duty-bound to inflict.

But the prospects of Trump sustaining any serious political damage are fast fading away.

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