The headlines that dominated yesterday were obviously all about one thing: Trump supporters acting like a mob and forcing their way into the Capitol building. They smashed their way into the Capitol chambers and forced lawmakers to be evacuated and/or to hide. It disrupted the proceedings of Congress certifying the election of Joe Biden to the White House. The pro-Trump protesters had headed to the Capitol building essentially on the orders of Donald Trump, who had given them instructions to go there during his speech earlier in the day.
The violence was eventually quelled, although there is video of the police effectively allowing the protesters free access right to the Capitol building itself. In the melee that followed, four people were killed. A pipe bomb was discovered near to the pro-Trump mob scene near the Capitol building.
Earlier this year, the country, and indeed the entire world, watched in horror as images of mob violence on American streets were broadcast. Those riots were automatically associated in the minds of many with the Black Lives Matter movement, although many made clear that there was, in fact, a world of difference between peaceful protesters and those who used the protests as an excuse to riot and loot.
Yesterday, pro-Trump mobs took over the Capitol building in Washington. They smashed windows and stormed inside the building. The police were very clearly a lot softer on this mob than they had been against BLM protesters, even though they were in the very heart of the American government’s main building itself, outright threatening democracy. Many people today are asking why that should be. Lawmakers were evacuated from the emergency, but they returned later with a sense of urgency to go ahead and validate Joe Biden’s presidential election win. Most pro-Trump supporters within Congress who had vowed to try and block the proceedings finally had second thoughts. There were a few idiots, like Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz, who have shown their stubborn idiocy and sniveling tendencies in the past. Frankly, to hell with them. They and their fake claims of massive voter fraud are not worth any more time, so let’s move on.
Trump evidently resisted calling in the National Guard, but too many members of his administration were insistent on the move for the good of the country. Eventually, facing that much opposition from members of his own administration, Trump relented. He made a video urging his supporters to go home. It was a classic case of too little, too late, as Trump had incited – yes incited, there is really no point trying to suggest anything else – his supporters to resist, and to help him keep office and “stop the steal.”
Given that Trump himself kept alleging massive voter fraud, but failed to provide a shred of proof of this massive voter fraud that, he claimed, kept him from winning the election and serving another term, it sure seems that the evidence points to Trump and his supporters being the ones who want to steal the election.
Mitt Romney, a Republican who has had a back and forth, seemingly love-hate relationship with Trump, perhaps hit the nail on the head better than any other prominent lawmaker that I heard, stating that this was “due to a selfish man’s injured pride.”
Yup. A monumentally selfish narcissist who chooses to create his own fantasies as some kind of alternate version of reality, and then declares anyone who does not bend to this ridiculous farce as spreading “fake news.”
Romney has had his differences with Trump in the past, so perhaps it was not all that surprising that he would lash out at Trump. However, it was refreshing that, for once, many Republicans who promised to contest the proceedings decided against doing so after the chaos that they had witnessed only too closely. Lyndsey Graham, to his credit, said “enough is enough” and admitting that Americans needed to hear it more from him than probably any other Congressman, he said that there was no real doubts left about Joe Biden being the President-elect. Senator Mitch McConnell also was unequivocal in declaring that the debate about doubts regarding this election were over. For once, GOP members of Congress actually stood up against Trump, and some (certainly not all) were holding him accountable.
In the end, the Senate voted 92-7 to certify Joe Biden as the President-elect. In the wake of the violence earlier in the day, they opted not to enter into any significant debates, for that matter. All of that relentless nonsense from Trump, his baseless claims of a stolen election, and in the end, it was the very passion of his most militant supporters who undid what small credibility Trump still has, or had, in Washington.
Trump did state that there would be an orderly transition. This was the first indication that Trump has finally accepted the inevitable: that a Biden presidency is going to be a reality.
Still, the damage was done. Again, though, many are finally holding Trump accountable. There is some buzz, evidently, that members of the Trump administration are discussing the 25th amendment, and contemplating taking action by suggesting Trump is unable to perform the duties of his office. Not sure if I believe that, personally, but there is some talk of that. Seems like a very, very long shot. Some members of his administration resigned after the events yesterday. Clearly, this will live on as an enduring aspect of Trump’s legacy, and it is not going to be a positive one.
Twitter suspended Trump’s account for 12 hours, while Facebook suspended his account for 24 hours. Evidently, they are threatening to cancel his accounts outright if there is another such instance. This might seem like a limited action, which it frankly is. Yet, is anything more important to this president than attention focused squarely on him? It is difficult to imagine him not being bothered by these actions, even though they frankly do not go nearly far enough.
Here is my own personal take on this: Donald Trump is, by far, the worst president in American history. He is a criminal, and I have no doubt that he would have become a dictator if our democracy was just a little bit weaker. Still, he did all that he could to weaken it, and he undeniably weakened our democracy. In the process, he undeniably tarnished the nation’s image around the world. He might be wealthy, but as far as this country, and this world, is concerned, he is worse than worthless. He is a divider, a transparently narcissist, petty, immature, and selfish piece of shit. Frankly, he never belonged in the White House, and did not deserve the prestige of the office that he held,, and frankly, degraded time and time again. The presidency will likely never quite be the same, and I do not mean that in a complimentary way at all. Donald Trump was a fake president, in that he did not work for the betterment of the country, but rather always tried to serve his own narrow self-interest. That tens of millions of Americans failed to see through this transparent snake oil salesman and his schemes and scams to maintain his ridiculously inflated ego is ridiculous, and has led to a presidency that seriously compromised the nation’s standing in the world. This will not be easily or quickly forgotten, and will be an embarrassing chapter in our history, one that we as Americans should feel ashamed of.
I have referred to Trump as King Con Don. This upsets people, at least Trump supporters. Especially the most violent, irrational ones. It was my attempt to label him, as he labels everyone else, and to do so in a humorous manner, as well as to knock him down a peg or two in my own way. The nickname evokes images (to me) of a fictional movie monster, but also adds the comical aspect, to show that, in fact, this monster is more of a clown than a serious threat. In fact, I still maintain that to be true, but that does not mean that this vile creature cannot do damage, or should be underestimated. He can do damage, and has. Look at the example yesterday. Worse, he still can do damage. And the threat that he poses needs to be removed. His most ardent, passionate supporters have, time and again, shown a willingness to engage in acts of violence, and this man they consider their leader tries to have it both ways. He tries to incite chaos and violence, while also trying to appear distant and not responsible for the violence that he causes. Like everything about this man, it is a gimmick, a scam. Except now, people are getting hurt, even dying, and quite directly because of what amounts to orders from him. History has shown that all he learns from these kinds of incidents is how much he can get away with for the next time, because he always gets away with it. It is time to hold him accountable, to remove him from office and, frankly, have him be held accountable for his crimes.
Crimes?
Yes, crimes.
Maybe not all Trump supporters are militant, violent idiots. Some truly have been duped, and some may really not be bright enough to know better. Indeed, some may be good people, albeit with a distorted reasoning that leaves something to be desired.
However, there is a clearly significant faction of his supporters who are the absolute dregs of humanity. Among his extremist supporters are unashamed white supremacists and extremist militia. These people have a false sense of entitlement, and have actively undermined our democracy. They have threatened violence often times, and on some occasions, they have lashed out violently. They tried unsuccessfully to kidnap a sitting governor, and some called for a civil war. Now, it seems they are actively trying to start that civil war with the attack on the Capitol building.
Those extremists are not to be reasoned with. They are not open to debate or other points of view. They know only one way, and that way is violence. That makes them nothing short of traitors, criminals and terrorists, and they need to be dealt with as such. Perhaps it is time to recognize that the biggest among them is still sitting in the Oval Office right now, at least for another 13 days. He enables his most idiotic, unreasonable, violent supporters, and they enable him. It is a vicious cycle, and it needs to stop. Right now.
Trump is the worst president in American history, by far. Even if it is mostly a symbolic act at this point, Trump deserves to be removed from office and banned from ever running for office again. There may be less than two weeks left of his insanity and his pitiful excuse for a presidency, but we all ready have seen - numerous times, frankly - that even this amount of time can see a lot of damage done because of Trump's arrogance and ego. He needs to be removed from office, and now. Not a few days from now, not even tomorrow. As soon as possible. Let history record, and let all Americans, and indeed all the world, understand once and for all what this pathetic "leader" and his cult following apparently do not understand: there are limits. This is a nation governed by laws and by order. For the good of the nation, Trump needs to be removed right now.
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