[cheers and applause] this is "nightline". tonight, the historic moment. the divided vote. >> article one is adopted. >> the house officially impeaching president trump. tonight he's taking the fight right to his base. >> it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached. plus, darnedest things. throwing it down with tiffany haddish. both naughty and nice. >> wait, were you on the naughty list? how? you're a great person. >> well, new year's eve was not great. >> landing her own punch lines. where does your work ethic come

from? >> homelessness. >> and the one person who changed her life forever. but first, the "nightline" five. number one in just sixty seconds. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ all we need is somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ sweden's greetings. enjoy your first payment on us when you lease a new volvo. now through january 2nd. good evening. thanks for joining us. for only the third time in u.s. history -- the house tonight voted to impeach a sitting president.

a decision that divided already hardened party lines. here is abc's david wright. >> all in favor, say aye. >> aye. >> opposed no. >> no! >> reporter: december 18, 2019, a day that will live in history. >> the ayes have it. >> reporter: on this day, president donald trump assured his place in the record books for all the wrong reasons. >> article one is adopted. the question is on adoption of article two. >> reporter: impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of congress. the final votes very nearly along straight party line. >> article two is adopted. >> reporter: the 45th president just the third in u.s. history to be impeached. >> december 18th, a grave day for the constitution of the united states. a sad one for america.

>> reporter: the divisions in congress reflected deeper dedivide in the country at large. in kalamazoo, washington, michelle wong watched at home. >> so i've been watching this and listening to this off and on all day today. >> reporter: tonight she was cheering the democrats on. >> they know he's guilty. they know it. >> reporter: over in battle creek, michigan half an hour away, a very different reaction. trump voters gathered there for a rally. our colleague, martha raddatz was there. >> it's obviously, it's biassed. and i think it's political. it's going to look bad in the history. >> i think he's getting railroaded. i do. i think that the democrats had him marked the moment he got elected. >> reporter: the president himself had these thoughts on today. >> it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached. the country is doing better than ever before.

we did nothing wrong. we did nothing wrong. >> reporter: president trump was on stage when he learned the vote had passed. >> oh, i think we have a vote coming in. so we got every single republican voted for whoa! whoa! wow! >> it was really quite extraordinary to be in this room at this rally in battle creek, michigan, right while that vote on impeachment was going on, a historic day. but you really wouldn't know it here. >> reporter: tonight's vote followed six hours of debate in the house of representatives. speaker nancy pelosi called it a national civics lesson, quoting the pledge every schoolchild recites weekday mornings. >> to the republic, for which it stands. one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> reporter: pelosi invited

members of congress to reflect on what that means. >> the republic for which it stands is what we are here to talk about today. a republic, if we can keep it. we gather today under the dome of this temple of democracy exercise one of the most solemn powers that this body can take. the impeachment of the president of the united states. >> party loyalty must have its limits. >> reporter: the department that followed was bitterly partisan. >> this is not about the ukraine. it's about power. donald trump has it and house democrats want it. and so, with no crime, no victim, no evidence, no proof, no agenda for america, this impeachment charade marches on. >> history will record the democrat's legacy as a betrayal of the constitution. >> i think when the history is written it will record that when my colleagues found that they had the lack of courage to stand up to this unethical president

they consoled themselves by attacking those who did. >> reporter: many argue that the president brought this on himself. >> he tried to cheat, he got caught, he confessed and then obstructed the investigation into his misconduct. >> reporter: america has been here before, first with andr&-p. richard nixon resigned in 1974 when it became clear he'd be impeached for watergate, most recently, bill clinton was impeached for lying about his affair with a white house intern. >> i did not have sexual relations with that woman, ms. lewinsky. >> reporter: when the senate held clinton's trial. >> the senate will convene as a court of impeachment. >> reporter: the republicans failed to get two-thirds vote required to remove him. >> this time we're going to see chief justice john roberts. what can we expect from him? >> i think we can expect from roberts the kind of ministerial

authority that rehnquist brought to it. >> it's called a trial. how much is it actually like a trial that we would be familiar with? >> this is not at all like a criminal trial. it's really important for viewers to understand that. the same kind of federal rules of evidence, the criminal procedure that we typically have in a criminal trial, those don't apply here. >> democrats are facing a real uphill battle in the senate as he hope to convict the president. they are already jockeying the republican leader mitch mcconnell and the democratic leader chuck schumer. what is it going to look like when they come back in january. >> reporter: bill clinton was well into his second term when he was impeached. not this time. >> thank you, michigan. >> reporter: this time the election is less than a year away. tonight president trump argued that works for him. >> crazy nancy pelosi's house democrats have brapdnded themselves with an eternal mark of shame, and it really is, it's

a disgrace. >> reporter: many members of congress are already feeling the heat. >> let's try have a civil conversation, okay? >> reporter: just listen to michigan democrat alissa slot kin. >> so i will be voting yes on obstruction of congress. >> reporter: this week at a boisterous town hall meeting she tried to rationalize her vote to impeach, even though she knows it might be political suicide. >> obviously i know and i can hear that this is a very controversial decision and i knew that. and all i can ask from the people who are listening is that while we may not agree, i hope you believe me when i tell you that i made this decision out of principle. >> we're a 50/50 country. we have been forea while. and all of the debates and hearings haven't seemed to budge anybody very much. one of the things democrats are realizing, in impeaching donald trump, it's different. they're not just impeaching a president. they're impeaching a movement

that has remained 100% loyal to him. >> reporter: for every trump voter, loud and proud at that rally tonight, there are others who feel just as passionately the other way. like michelle the wong. >> i've heard that people believe, those of us in the midwest and in michigan and in particular, that we're not paying attention to impeachment, we don't care. and i think that is grossly incorrect. >> reporter: the progressive group move on organized rallies for them in cities across the country last night. michelle attended the rally in kalamazoo, michigan. in 2016, michigan's 16 electoral votes significantly helped donald trump. kalamazoo was just one of it's michigan counties that favored hillary clinton over trump. >> i foresee many more stops in michigan for not only trump but the democratic presidential candidates. and it's going to be a very active political season for us.

and we're ready. and we're going to really show them what michigan is all about in the next election. >> michigan's had the best year it's ever had. >> reporter: a fiery start to what's likely to be a hard-fought election. >> thank you, thank you, michigan. thank you. >> reporter: i'm david wright for "nightline" in new york. >> g thema will have the latest in the morning. it's finally time for... geico sequels! classic geico heroes, starring in six new commercials, with jaw-dropping savings. vote for your favorites at: geico.com/sequels ahhh, which way do i go?! i don't know, i'm voting for our sequels. with geico, the savings keep on going to a screen near you. not the leg! you dang woodchucks! geico sequels. vote and enter to win today!

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you know tiffany haddish knows how to light up a room, churning out jokes that crack up both adults and children. but before her rise to iconic glory, she first had to overcome obstacles that why ere no laugh matter. how she found light moments from the darkness. >> welcome to santa's workshop. >> tiffany haddish is one of the hottest comedians in the world. >> you like the view from the back? look at you. >> reporter: but she's also got a side gig. >> i'm santa's little helper, or thick helper. >> reporter: don't tell the kids, but this is actually a tv set for "kid"kid"kid darnedist things." >> me doing this helps me get on the nice list. >> reporter: perhaps the secret to success is that haddish is a kid at heart. you see yourself as a kid

whisperer. >> i treat the kids the way i wanted to be treated. i remember 7-year-old tiffany, 10 year old tiffany. i could open up and be myself. >> reporter: she appeals to innocent children, but her role had her cursing up a storm. so much of your work is explicit. >> standup's for grown ups. if i walk fast, i don't need no man. >> reporter: so how do you keep it g-rated? >> i mean kids say things sometimes that i'm like, whoa! >> i feel like i'd be a sex eye c cash for ycar for you. >> i feel like you using grown-up words. >> reporter: like talking about getting high on jimmy kimmel. >> i thought it would be cool to be in the swamp and be high. >> reporter: she stole the show at the oscars. >> hi, meryl.

i want to you be my mama someday. >> reporter: she became the first black female comic to hoist "saturday night live." >> this is a $4,000 dress. i'm going to wear this dress multiple times. >> reporter: those pinch yourself moments must be all the time. >> i look at my hand, i'm still here, i'm here, i'm here, okay. as i'm brushing my teeth, i'm like, wow, yesterday i was hanging out with oprah. >> you are so, so, so, come on. >> told me that before in a dream. >> reporter: a shining success now, but far removed from the struggles she endured in foster care as a child and later with homelessness. the pain inspiring her comedy. how do you turn your pain into jokes? >> i try to find joy in everything, and i know i'm not the only person that's gone through this. i can't be. i feel like if i can find the strength in it, the funny about it, then i can use it as an instrument of success as opposed

to an instrument of destruction. >> well, i know you're a standup comedian. what got you into that? >> my social worker got me into it, because i was getting into a lot of trouble at school because i talk too much. she said you got two choices this summer. you can go to the laugh factory camp or psychiatric therapy, and i was, and ta-da, here i am 20-some years later. >> reporter: that was a big fork in the road for you. >> huge fork in the road. >> reporter: that decision to attend the laugh factory comedy camp changed her life. >> i get on the bus. >> and i'm so thankful to that social worker. i'm still looking for her. her maim name is kellita lewis. i would say you are an amazing woman, thank you for doing what you did. you changed my whole existence, and you made p it better. look at me now.

>> reporter: where does your work ethic come from? >> homelessness. never wanting to be homeless again. >> reporter: that's haddish at a tender age, explaining how she's living out of her car. >> i know where everything is, if i need something i got it. just because i don't have a place to stay don't mean i have to look like i don't have a place to stay. >> reporter: it was kevin hart who helped her figure out a game plan. he literally pulled new off the streets? >> yeah, i was sleeping in my geometro. and the man gave me some money and said get you a place to sleep and write a list of goals. he's somebody who always tries to challenge me. >> reporter: and she brings that spirit with her on stage and on set. >> now what exactly do you do when in your bowling ball cleaning business. >> i ask would you like your balls polished or cleaned or sanded. and, and they'll say yes or no.

and sometimes, sometimes they just say clean the ball. >> the kid with the bowling ball. >> oh, my goodness. i was trying to hold that together. and i'm just like, whoa, like, and, you know, all i can do is laugh. i had that same job at about 22. >> reporter: do you feel like the humor is on two levels? because i mean i got that as an adult. and the adults were wink, wink, smiling. >> and that's fun thing about it, right? what they're talking about is completely inch sent a completely innocent and pure, but our grown filthy minds. how old are you? >> 4. >> reporter: i also love little ellington, who's hiding in his suit coat. >> he was so sweet. that almost made me twoopts have a baby. how nervous are you? >> a little. >> you're a little nervous? >> reporter: does this make you more or less likely to want to have a baby.

>> it's the best form of birth control. it surprises me on some level. i probably would be a good mom, but do i really want to do that work? take that birth control pill. >> reporter: you can always be a good foster mom. >> i can guarantee you this. any kid who leaves out my house will leave with a manual on how to survive this earth. >> reporter: she's already helping kids with her foundation. >> i go talk to the quidkids an encouraging them to be successful and to understand that just because you're a foster kid doesn't mean that you're less to society. actually it means you're maybe a little more valuable, because the state is paying a lot of money to make sure you don't die. that means are you an investment, honey, you are valuable. >> reporter: she still remembers where she came from. she spent years dancing as a bar mitzvah girl. but has spent the last few years preparing for her own, honoring her father's ethiopian heritage.

you grew up going to bar mitzvahs. >> yeah. all my co-workers are like, are you really doing this? yes, i'm really doing this. i'm really studying. it's really hard, but i'm really enjoying every minute of it. >> reporter: her study culminating in an epic blow-out bash as part of netflix's black mitzvah. >> who knows, after this i might still feel like a little girl from time to time, but now i have official paperwork that say i'm a brown woman. i have to represent for our people. >> reporter: i don't mean to get so personal, but it was such a profound moment when i converted. >> it's a huge thing. >> reporter: it's a big deal. >> you're saying this am now. this is who i am. >> reporter: mazel tauf.

and the show returns sunday night at 8:00, 7:00 central. ugly sweater? none better. ♪ oh, ho! oh, ho, ho, ho! you... you got me. uh, what do you want? i've got uh, ai robots, i've got vr goggles. i want your sled, please. no. [ chuckles ] timmy. it'd be a shame if this went viral. for those who never compromise. the mercedes-benz winter event. whoa. he was pretty good this year. introducing new vicks vapopatch easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. new vicks vapopatch. breathe easy. the ones that make a truebeen difference in people's lives.

and mike's won them, which is important right this minute, because if he could beat america's biggest gun lobby, helping pass background check laws and defeat nra backed politicians across this country, beat big coal, helping shut down hundreds of polluting plants and beat big tobacco, helping pass laws to save the next generation from addiction. all against big odds you can beat him. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. the roomba i7+ with cleanng base automatic dirt disposal and allergenlock™ bags that trap 99% of allergens, so they don't escape back into the air. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba™ a drink with friends can turn into two.. and a prescription can be stronger than you thought. stop! there are a lot of ways to get a dui. and a lot of ways to go.

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and finally tonight, try topping this ugly holiday sweater. it's a fireplace, complete with lights, garland, stockings, oh, and look who's coming down the chimney. the decked-out daughter is 8-year-old laleh grimes of lynchburg, virginia, proudly wearing her mother's creation. now that's one to beat. and that's "nightline." you can always catch our full episodes on hulu. thanks for staying up with us, goodni

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