If there has ever been a clear example of an anticlimax, it was tonight’s two votes to impeach President Donald Trump.

Those of us who have been following the various investigations surrounding President Trump have long known that impeachment was inevitable. The need to hold him accountable has been obvious since the release of The Mueller Report, which recorded 10 instances of obstruction of justice. He displayed many indications of criminal conduct long before then.

The two votes on the articles of impeachment were nearly identical to the vote in October to open an impeachment inquiry. Polling on impeachment has remained stagnant for months: a bit less than 50% of America supports impeachment, and a bit more than 45% of America opposes it.

Almost nothing about tonight was unpredictable. And yet, what happens next feels unpredictable.

As a nation, we are in uncharted waters. Never before has a highly legitimate case for impeachment been put forth, only to meet nakedly partisan opposition from the President’s political party. Never before has the United States Senate and (in next year’s election) the American people been asked to consider in their decision making the evidence showing a President’s solicitation of election interference from foreign powers. Never before has a President refused to resign when the evidence of his crimes was so clear cut and obvious, and never before has a political party’s elected representatives chosen to support and cover for his criminal conduct unequivocally and unanimously.

So now that he’s been impeached, what happens next? Based on what we know, here are a few predictions.

Conservative Media Outlets Keep On Keeping On, But Must Go On Defense. For the next month, all the conservative media outlets will have to churn out TV segments and clickbait articles defending Trump’s actions. They’ve already been on the defensive for quite some time, but now there will be greater pressure to do so. The conservative media ecosystem is the only thing providing the President with any legitimacy at this point, as they know it. Expect these outlets to become even more apoplectic and conspiratorial than before. Republicans in the Senate Will Acquit President Trump. Sadly, he won’t be removed from office during the Senate trial. Even wildly incriminating, new evidence seems unlikely to sway the Republicans in the Senate. After all, the evidence already is staggering — during the hearings, we saw aides and administration officials (including those appointed by Trump himself) openly admit that President Trump sought the announcement of a bogus corruption investigation into the son of a Democratic Presidential candidate. If that testimony fails to sway Republicans, then it’s doubtful anything will. Democrats Continue Other Ongoing Investigations; New Investigations Will Begin. Given his track record —like the fact he called President Zelensky the day after Robert Mueller testified to Congress — Trump is going to continue to commit crimes after being acquitted. As he does so, investigations will follow suit. We may even see a second impeachment. But even if President Trump suddenly decides to act within the law, other ongoing investigations remain. The Democrats haven’t even touched the President’s Emoluments Clause violations, which will likely have a lot more electoral potency than either The Mueller Report or The Ukraine Scandal. Have we already forgotten about Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort? President Trump Eventually Takes a Very Slight Political Hit…Maybe. Here’s a sad truth: a lot of Americans don’t follow politics much. Many folks likely learned about the President’s impeachment today. This means that, right now, many have not learned the facts of the case. Because the case for his impeachment will come up during the election, a few who previously liked Trump will eventually gather more information. Of this few, a small percentage will care enough to possibly be swayed. It is highly unlikely that anyone who opposed President Trump beforehand has been turned off by these impeachment hearings. So politically, if it isn’t a wash, the impeachment hurts President Trump slightly. Whether this slight hit is enough to prevent his re-election entirely depends on other factors in the 2020 campaign. If he wins re-election, though, he will still have lost significant credibility among most voters, rendering his second term largely ineffective. Trump Will Go Down in History As a Disgraced, Criminal President, With Minimal Accomplishments And Many Failures To Act To Address The Numerous Looming Crises Of Our Times. This prediction speaks for itself.

My last prediction is my most important one. Impeaching President Trump was never about scoring a political victory. It was never going to be a “game changer” in our current political climate, and it was always unlikely to result in his removal from office. However, it is going to be written in the history books and not overlooked, and I’d argue this fact matters more than anything else.

Yes, we should all still care about the 2020 Election and the implications impeachment has on our current political climate. And yes, those who understand the severity of President Trump’s crimes should still speak out and resist the efforts by conservatives to normalize his conduct. But the implications of impeachment on the history of the United States still matter more than anything else, for how Americans remember President Trump in the future can impact how we operate as a nation for centuries to come.

Nobody remembers the Teapot Dome Scandal or the crimes of President Warren G. Harding. Few people seem to even recall President Ronald Reagan’s Iran-Contra Scandal, even if it happened in their lifetime, and instead glorify him as “The Great Communicator.” But because 229 Democrats and 1 ex-Republican bravely voted to impeach President Trump, he will forever be associated with The Ukraine Scandal and in the long run will be remembered for his crimes.