The author of The Art of the Deal has a long history of giving his counsel impossible tasks to perform and then dumping on them when they fail to deliver.

The difference on this occasion is that regardless of the competence, or lack thereof, of his advocates it appears the former POTUS and inciter of the mob that stormed the Capitol Building will get off scot free regardless. That's because, as they say in the classics, "the fix is in".

Only six Republican Senators were willing to side with the Democrats to support the self-evident proposition it is constitutional to impeach a president for alleged offences committed in the last month of his presidency. This is despite the fact that to have done otherwise would have set a precedent allowing any and all future Presidents to do whatever they liked in their last days without any fear of censure.

A majority of Republican Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who had initially welcomed the moves to impeach in the days immediately after the insurrection, are running scared.

Trump, who masterminded a hostile takeover of the Republican Party in 2015 and 2016, still maintains a powerful hold over the ultra-conservative, incurably right wing base that has been gathering strength since the days of the "Tea Party".

Instead of learning from recent events and embarking on a "root and branch" reform program to return the party of Lincoln to where it once proudly stood, the Republican incumbents have succumbed to self-interest and expediency and are standing by their false messiah out of a fear of repercussions.

One of the great ironies of history is that in the 192 years since they were founded the Democrats have evolved from being the party of slavery, and then secession, and revolt, to becoming the party of equality and justice. Meanwhile, in the 160 years since the Civil War was instigated by southern Democrats, the Republicans have descended into chaos and now seem to stand for little more than self-interest, even at the cost of signing off on hatred and division.

While it is fashionable to call what is happening in Washington a "trial", the reality is that it is anything but. There is no independent judge or jury; Trump is not being arraigned before a panel of his disinterested peers. It is, as was always the case with such events, a "show trial", a numbers game.

Despite the fact polling indicates a significant majority of voters believe the Mar-a-Lago recluse should be found guilty and then barred from ever holding office again, that would only occur if 67 of the 100 senators voted against him. The numbers currently stand at 56 to 44, 11 Republicans short of the tally needed.

So, in view of all this, has the push to impeach been, as many Trump supporters have claimed, a needless distraction, an unwarranted persecution, and a waste of time?

Not necessarily. First and foremost, the Senate has resolved it is constitutional to impeach a president for acts committed in his last weeks in office and after he has left the White House. That is an important principle.

And secondly, the process of impeachment will make the case against Trump in the public arena for all time to come. It is important to get the facts on the record.

It is even possible that as a result of watching what is unfolding in the Senate some of Trump's rusted on partisans may even come to realise that their fallen idol had feet of clay.