KEY POINTS Trump is likely worried that impeachment will permanently tarnish his presidental legacy

Reelection victory will be viewed by Trump as vindication, associate says

Democrats know that even if Trump is not convicted, impeachment will harm Republicans in 2020

President Donald Trump and his supporters on the Hill keep firing back at the impeachment process as being futile and baseless – but deep down, it seems, Trump realizes that regardless of whether the Senate acquits him, his legacy is already tarnished.

Since the House of Representatives began its impeachment inquiry, Trump and his allies have decried it as politically motivated. Trump himself has repeatedly called his impeachment a “hoax” and has even compared it to the Salem Witch Trials, which he claims were fairer in nature.

Despite this, some individuals who were personally close to Trump know that he is often prone to feeling insecure, The Hill's Niall Stanage wrote in his column 'The Memo.' For someone who often expresses frustration over the mainstream media’s frequent criticism of his policies and behavior alike, this is not difficult to believe. After last week, when Trump was formally impeached by the House, there’s little doubt that he is currently extremely concerned about his presidential legacy.

Omarosa Newman, who grew close to Trump during their time on the reality television show “The Apprentice” and who served as a senior adviser in the Trump administration’s early days, said this is without a doubt the case.

“Impeachment effectively undermines his desire to be significant,” something Trump has been long fixated on, Newman told Stanage, “because he now has that asterisk tattooed to his head.”

Another close Trump associate, Sam Nunberg, who worked for a time on Trump’s 2016 campaign team, told Stanage that the President is likely to have a heightened drive to win reelection next year. For Trump, Nunberg said, “the amount of drive that he had to get reelected has been magnified by millions.” Winning again would be the ultimate rebuke of the Democrats’ impeachment in Trump’s eyes, Numberg explained.

Trump’s increasingly brash behavior in recent weeks – brash even by his own standards – underscores the President’s concern about his public image and, ultimately, the way his administration will be remembered by history. Between Trump’s days of 100-plus tweets and the vitriolic letter he sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week, among other things, the impeachment is clearly weighing heavily on the President’s mind.

For House Democrats, it’s probable that they knew officially impeaching Trump would have such an effect. Although the Republican-dominated Senate is unlikely to convict Trump – Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have both said they will both vote to acquit – the taint of impeachment will forever haunt Trump. Democrats on the Hill know this and have another endgame in mind.

No doubt their hopes are that with the specter of impeachment hanging over both Trump and Hill Republicans seeking to retain their seats next year, voters will be swayed into helping Democrats gain a Senate majority and push their eventual presidential nominee into the White House.