Donald Trump called Democrats’ impeachment efforts “evil” and “corrupt”, a day after the Senate acquitted him, lifting the cloud of impeachment from his presidency as he heads into the election year.

“It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars,” Trump said on Thursday in an address from the White House. “This should never happen to another president ever.”

After entering the East Room to a standing ovation, Trump lifted a copy of the Washington Post with a large headline that said “Trump Acquitted”, drawing another round of applause.

The room was filled with a crowd of his staunchest congressional supporters who defended the president throughout his impeachment. Senator Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy were seated in the front row beside Representatives Steve Scalise and Louie Gohmert.

Momentum to re-election bid?

Trump is betting his acquittal will add momentum to his 2020 re-election campaign. He has expressed no remorse for his conduct at the heart of his impeachment, even though several Republican lawmakers called it inappropriate and one, Senator Mitt Romney, voted to remove him from office for abusing the power of the presidency.

Trump’s defiance has appeared to energise his Republican base. His approval rating reached a high of 49 per cent in the latest Gallup poll, with 94 per cent of Republicans approving of his job performance.

On Thursday, Trump maintained that he had done nothing wrong, and called Romney a failed presidential candidate who used religion as a crutch to justify his impeachment vote.

Still, a poll published Wednesday by Reuters/Ipsos found that 60 per cent of Americans believed Trump should have been either removed from office or censured for pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Just 31 per cent said his articles of impeachment should be dismissed.

Thursday’s appearance is the President’s first extensive response to the Senate acquittal. He began his remarks recalling his decision to fire then-FBI Director James Comey over the investigation into the presidents dealings with Russia during his 2016 campaign.

He held the stage, running through a list of people who supported him during the impeachment.

Partisan rift

During the trial, Trump confined most of his commentary to Twitter and some campaign events. On Tuesday night, he delivered a triumphant State of the Union address in the House chamber, but did not mention impeachment.

But the partisan rift that has widened throughout the saga was evident. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who spearheaded the impeachment, tore up her printed copy of the Trump’s speech after he finished speaking.

“He shredded the truth in his speech, he is shredding the Constitution in his conduct, so I shredded his State of the Mind address,” Pelosi said on Thursday.

Trump has nonetheless has insisted the call at the centre of the trial, in which he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open investigations that would benefit the US president, was perfect.

Speaking on Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump said: “As everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people.”

After the event, Pelosi said, “I pray hard for him because he is so off the track.”

At the White House event, Trump said, “I doubt she prays at all,” and called Pelosi a horrible person.

Trump’s tone stands in contrast with that of former President Bill Clinton, the only other president in the modern era to be impeached. In a February 12, 1999, speech following his acquittal in the Senate, Clinton expressed how profoundly sorry he was for what he said and did to trigger the event.

Trump, on Thursday, indicated that the partisan divide is unlikely to abate. “If they find that I happen to walk across the street and maybe go against the light, the Democrats will probably try to impeach him again,” Trump said.

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