As I said the week following the insurrection, the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th were a sad reminder that whiteness still bestows certain privileges on some of the least fortunate in our society, people filled with anger and resentment because they have lost all sense of worth except for their whiteness, the last vestige of the privilege once bestowed on them. Exactly why these MAGAs remain loyal to a “creature” like Trump (Speaker Pelosi’s term, not mine) remains a mystery, but the man’s uncanny ability to channel their horrible rage is undoubtedly a significant factor.
As early as summer of 2020, there was already evidence that Trump was planning to do whatever was necessary to hold onto power. Knowing he would lose the election based on his disastrous, incompetent handling of the COVID pandemic and the resulting economic collapse, Trump set about trying to destroy the election’s legitimacy, warning that the vote would be fraudulent and “rigged.” (He loves the word “rigged” because he knows that his MAGA followers need to believe everything is rigged against them, just as they are obsessed with the notion that “liberal elites” look down on them.) From the start of the campaign, Trump was already doing everything he could to pave the way for contesting the results if he lost. And suffice to say, leading an insurrection on the Capitol was his last possible means to stay in power.
Josh Hawley has already been rightfully savaged all over the internet—“Look at him go,” “Run Hawley run,” “Ran faster than Forrest Gump”—for being caught on camera running from the same crowd he had saluted only hours before. In the midst of the unveiling of the greatest threat to our democracy since the Civil War, we can take some comfort in the comic relief he provided. Like Donald Trump, the lifelong failure turned seditionist when his back was finally up against the wall, Hawley showed himself to be a cowardly joke.
All Trump had to Say on January 6th was that Mike Pence Let Him Down.
Trump has stayed one step ahead of the law his whole life, but on January 6 the “great American grifter” finally went too far. Since when does an American president have his own standing army on call? Remember when he instructed them to “Stand back and stand by” during the presidential debate? What the hell?! The man flouted his relationships with far-right militias like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers while the rest of us sat by powerless to prevent the consequences. Is there any question that most of the MAGAs who attacked the Capitol had been given their marching orders well in advance?
Come January 6th the “creature” happily sat by and watched Fox News while his vice president and any number of Democratic lawmakers (and perhaps some RHINO Republicans as well) could have been killed by a crazed mob who believed his ridiculous “Big Lie.” But how could he have called them off when he had just sent them on their long-awaited mission only a few hours before? Has it ever been clearer that Trump wanted to disrupt the transition of power so he could declare martial law and reinstate himself as president? If Pence and Pelosi were done away with, the pro-tempore of the Senate and successor to the presidency is 82-year-old Patrick Leahy, who is not in good health and might have dropped dead from shock of it all. (Why-oh-why are so many of America’s current lawmakers octogenarians or about to join the club?)
If Trump Isn’t Indicted there is No God!
Attorney General Merrick Garland needs to show that unlike Robert Mueller, who seemingly botched the Russia Investigation so as not to ruffle too many feathers or jeopardize his reputation before he retired, he can summon the powers of his office regardless of whether Trump is a former president or a future presidential candidate. Garland, no spring chicken at age 69, needs to demonstrate that, unlike much of our current leadership, he is not a candidate for assisted living.