Nine days remain in the worst presidency in American history. The reign of Donald Trump has been one of lies, conspiracy theories, corruption, racism, division, fascism and insurrection.
The aura of instability and insurrection around President Trump is beyond denial at this point. He needs to leave the presidency now; the country cannot afford to allow this violent lame duck to run out the clock.
After the Jan. 6 Trump mob’s siege upon our Capitol, this should have been obvious to everyone. It seems to be with Democrats, who are ready to impeach Trump immediately. Republicans, however, are in denial.
The same party that enabled Trump over the last four years continues to allow him to remain in office, even after an insurrection that horrified and shamed the majority of them. Impeaching Trump now, many Republican leaders have said publicly, would only divide the country even further.
On the contrary, it would be an enormous mistake for Republicans to pass this opportunity up. They must not spurn the Democrats’ efforts to help them rid this country, and their party, of its biggest problem.
The events of Jan. 6 were not merely a riot of protesters in a city. It was an attack upon the seat of our country’s democracy. They didn’t ransack a Target store; they attacked Congress, as they were in session certifying the results of the presidential election.
If al-Qaeda had done the things Trump’s mob did on Capitol Hill last week, no Democrat or Republican would stand for it — and would do everything legally possible to bring the inciters and the insurrectionists to justice.
Members of the Trump mob shouted “Hang Mike Pence!,” angry that the outgoing vice president refused to unlawfully overturn the election, as Trump had wanted. They even set up a makeshift gallows, noose and all, near the steps. A few wore body armor and carried zip ties, with the apparent intention of taking hostages.
Trump mob members killed a Capitol police officer, bludgeoning him to death with a fire extinguisher. They also seriously injured another officer by trapping him inside a door and crushing him.
A Trump supporter was shot dead as her comrades attempted to bash their way into the Speaker’s lobby, and an officer inside opened fire in defense.
Trump’s mob forced the House and Senate into lockdown for hours. A few of them breached the Senate chamber and the Speaker’s office.
Past fascist movements in history, of the kind unleashed upon our Capitol last week, are rarely successful the first time. Countries which ignored it after putting the rebellion down would eventually fall prey to it — see the histories of Italy, Venezuela and Germany if you don’t believe us.
Trumpism is an equal danger to the long-term survival of the United States. We must act now, together, to ensure it doesn’t succeed at any point in the future in taking over this country.
Democrats and law-abiding Republicans must unite to root it out of power completely — by prosecuting the invaders to the fullest extent of the law; by expelling and censuring the advantageous politicians who helped foment the rebellion; by driving out the right-wing media forces spewing disinformation and inflammatory lies.
And the first step toward ending Trumpism in America is by immediately impeaching and removing Trump from the presidency. This is a bipartisan responsibility that cannot be ignored.
