This discussion begins with the central fact of January 6, 2021: the serving president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, standing in front of the White House, inciting an insurrectionary mob of thugs and domestic terrorists to march on the U.S. Capitol. They marched, broke in, halted the formal certification of the duly-elected next President of the United States, Joseph Biden, and wrecked the Capitol building—the citadel of our democracy. Mayhem and violence followed President Trump’s words. Likely some intended to kill whatever senior government officials that they could find. Perhaps some thought that, if a few Senators and Members of Congress were killed as a side benefit, all the better. The scene at the Capitol was terrible with thousands of insurrectionists pushing and (then) just walking into the Capitol building. Many offices were trashed. One man allegedly held an automatic rifle. Another had 10 Molotov cocktails at the ready. Angry men with rifles shouted, “Where’s Pence?” apparently on Trump’s revenge list for not overturning the election but rather following his Constitutional mandate to only count the electoral college vote. Senators and Congressmen fled for their lives, bravely returning after the crisis had passed and persisting until Joe Biden was confirmed as president in the wee hours of the next morning. The ultimate objective had been to overturn the U.S. presidential election of November 3 and install Donald J. Trump as dictator—maybe dictator for life, like his Chinese counterpart, whose office he had so admired in the past. In the process President Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors far exceeding those of the previous presidents who had been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and even Richard Nixon.
The Washington Post put it this way:
As President Trump told a sprawling crowd outside the White House that they should never accept defeat, hundreds of his supporters [later determined to be in the many thousands] stormed the U.S. Capitol in what amounted to an attempted coup.… In the chaos, law enforcement officials said, one woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police (ultimately it was five dead including a Capitol police officer killed by the mob). The violent scene…was like no other in modern American history, bringing to a sudden halt (but happily temporary) the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.”[1]
The day before, Georgia had held two runoff elections for the Senate, as required by state law after neither of the two incumbent Republicans had garnered more than 50 percent of votes case in the November 3rd election. One of the two Senators was running for election to a full term, the other incumbent had been appointed to fill an open seat for which she was seeking confirmation to complete the expired term of the seat. The Democratic candidates won both seats, both coming from behind. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office gave credit to Trump for causing the Republican defeat with his attacks on Georgia state officials for not supporting his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud—for not the overturning of the popular vote in Georgia. Indeed, so fixated was Trump on his own fate that he rarely spoke about the candidates while in Georgia.
President-elect Biden had won Georgia in the November 3rd election. Now Georgia’s senatorial elections brought the number of Democrats in the U.S. Senate up to 50, meaning that, when the Biden administration takes office, Vice President Kamala Harris will be the presiding officer, the one breaking ties, thereby giving Democrats control of the Senate. The Democratic leader will become the Majority Leader, giving Democrats the Presidency as well as House and Senate majorities. Much needed real change, as a result, may happen.
The Post in its editorial of January 6 said, referring to the attack on the Capitol,
Responsibility for this act of sedition lies squarely with the president, who has shown that his continued tenure in office poses a grave threat to U.S. democracy. He should be removed. Mr. Trump encouraged the mob to gather on Wednesday, as Congress was set to convene (to confirm the Electoral College vote count) and to “be wild.” After repeating a panoply of absurd conspiracy theories about the election, he urged the crowd to march on the Capitol. “We’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you,” he said. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”[2]
Thus Trump addressed a large crowd of many thousands in front of the White House and, needless to say, was not there with them when they marched on the Capitol.
After the seditious riot got completely out of hand and after appeals from senior Republicans, Trump agreed to broadcast a video urging his followers to go home. Trump did make a statement: “‘We love you. You’re very special,’ he told his seditious posse, Later, he excused the riot, tweeting that ‘these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.’”[3]
The Post concludes, “The president is unfit to remain in office for the next 14 days. Every second he retains the vast powers of the presidency is a threat to public order and national security.”[4] And if Trump goes, so eventually should Senators Cruz and Hawley who led the absurd and unjustified challenge to the Electoral College vote count in the first place. The joint session of Congress had no power to address the substantive fraud issues they raised. Our Founders intended this meeting as a ceremonial meeting, in which the Congress formally affirms the decisions of the states as to who will be the next president. In supporting an illegal attack on our Constitution, Cruz and are not patriots.
The Post editors quote President-elect Biden’s comments with approbation, “‘I call on this mob, now, to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward. It’s not protest. It’s insurrection. Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile.’ Mr. Biden is right. Rules, norms, laws, even the Constitution itself are worth something only if people believe in them.”[5] Americans carry out all their civic duties “…because of faith in a system—and that faith makes it work. The highest voice in the land incited people to break that faith, not just in tweets, but by inciting them to action. Mr. Trump is a menace, and as long as he remains in the White House, the country will be in danger.”[6]
In the Post’s issue of January 6, George Will identified three central characters involved in these crimes, or in his words,
The three repulsive architects of Wednesday’s heartbreaking spectacle—mobs desecrating the Republic’s noblest building and preventing the completion of a constitutional process—must be named and forevermore shunned. They are Donald Trump, and Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. Trump lit the fuse for the riot in the weeks before the election, with his successful effort to delegitimize the election in the eyes of his supporters. But Wednesday’s explosion required the help of Hawley (R-Mo.) and Cruz (R-Tex.)….[7]
Thus Will characterizes Cruz and Hawley’s “help” in the illegal effort to block the certification of the Electoral College vote and the recognition of Joseph Biden as president. He predicts,
The Trump-Hawley-Cruz insurrection against constitutional government will be an indelible stain on the nation. They, however, will not be so permanent. In 14 days, one of them will be removed from office by the constitutional processes he neither fathoms nor favors. It will take longer to scrub the other two from public life. Until that hygienic outcome is accomplished, from this day forward, everything they say or do or advocate should be disregarded as patent attempts to distract attention from the lurid fact of what they have become. Each will wear a scarlet ‘S’ as a seditionist.[8]
And on January 7, Michael Gerson published one of the most important articles of the last few years. A few excerpts follow:
The practical effects of the fascist occupation of the U.S. Capitol building were quickly undone. The symbols it left behind are indelible. A Confederate flag waved in triumph in the halls of a building never taken by Jefferson Davis. Guns drawn to protect the floor of the House of Representatives from violent attack. A cloddish barbarian in the presiding officer’s chair. The desecration of democracy under the banner “Jesus Saves.” This post-apocalyptic vision of chaos and national humiliation was the direct and intended consequence of a president’s incitement. It was made possible by quislings such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who turned a ceremony of continuity into a rallying cry for hatred and treason. In the aftermath, Republican legislators who still don’t support President Trump’s immediate removal from office by constitutional means are guilty of continuing complicity.”[9]
Trump and his insurrectionists and domestic terrorists have been supported politically for a long time by disparate and more savory allies, including some conservatives from the Federalist Society (who cared about nothing except court appointments), some economic conservatives (who cared only about loosening regulation on business) and, as Gerson points out,
…above all, Trump evangelicals, who sought to recover lost social influence through the cynical embrace of corrupt power…. “There has never been anyone,” said Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, “who has defended us and who has fought for us, who we have loved more than Donald J. Trump. No one!”… It is tempting to call unforgivable the equation of Christian truth with malice, cruelty, deception, bigotry and sedition. But that statement is itself contradicted by Christian truth, which places no one beyond forgiveness and affirms that everyone needs grace in different ways.”[10]
The complete and utter failure of one form of Christian engagement with the social order provides the opportunity for the emergence of another based on truth, morality and compassion. Gerson suggests that a principled agenda could include:
- True concern for the weak and vulnerable, including the poor refugees who came (and come) to our shores, as Emma Lazarus put urges in her poem on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;”
- A commitment to address and resolve the race question and improve our criminal justice system.
- A total commitment to public health here and abroad.
- An emphasis on political civility.
- A recognition of other religions also committed to love and grace for humanity; and
- “an insistence on public honesty and a belief in the transforming power of unarmed truth.”[11]
Gerson asks, “What would America be like if these had been the priorities of evangelical Christians over the past four years—or over the past four decades? It would mean something very different, in that world, to raise the banner ‘Jesus Saves.’”[12]
Trump, before thousands in front of the White House, called Joe Biden “an illegitimate president.” Subsequent events soon demonstrated who the illegitimate president was and it wasn’t Biden. Ivanka Trump tweeted that the crowd were “American Patriots.”[13] Rudolph Giuliani suggested on stage before Trump appeared that “trial by combat” decide the election.[14] And Trump himself told the crowd that they should march to the Capitol “to try and give [lawmakers] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”[15]
Former president George W. Bush posted a statement that said, in part,
It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic—not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement.[16]
Senator Mitt Romney asserted, “What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the president of the United States.”[17]
After the coup had failed and the crowd dissipated, the way Republicans and Democrats discovered their common bonds and spoke to one another—not as fractious party members—but as patriots and Americans was inspiring. Perhaps this appalling experience and the upcoming departure of would-be dictator Donald Trump, savage purveyor of lies and corruption, will enable the nation to have—in Abraham Lincoln’s phrase—”a new birth of freedom.” If we can face our many challenges and threats together, we cannot fail.
Hours after Sen. James Lankford’s speech challenging Arizona’s electoral college vote was interrupted by the barbaric mob that invaded our Capitol, he resumed his speech but with a different message,
“We’re the United States of America,” he said. “We disagree on a lot of things, and we have a lot of spirited debate in this room. But we talk it out, and we honor each other—even in our disagreement. That person, that person, that person”—here the senator gestured to other senators, presumably of the other party—”is not my enemy. That’s my fellow American.”[18]
Said Sen. Romney,
“I was shaken to the core as I thought about the people I met in China and Russia and Afghanistan and Iraq and other places who yearn for freedom, and who look to this building and these shores as a place of hope. And I saw the images being broadcast around the world, and it breaks my heart.”[19]
In the wake of all this House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority (soon to be Majority) leader Chuck Schumer both called for Trump’s removal from office. A growing number of Republicans were coming to the same conclusion, including Trump’s former Chief of Staff, John Kelly, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who supported the idea of action to remove Trump as unfit for office pursuant to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. Senator Lindsay Graham (R.-S.C.), a close confidant of Trump, said that “The president needs to understand that his actions were the problem.”[20] Graham also urged the prosecution and imprisonment of all those who had forced their way onto the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. These were people with whom Trump sympathized and whom, after the situation was completely out of control and had been for a while, he directed to call off their attack on the Capitol and go home, adding they he loved them. Graham dismissed them as ‘domestic terrorists,’” acknowledging that some of the terrorists on the Hill had been seeking the Vice President by name, further said, “In this debacle of the last week or so, there’s one person who stands out above all others. That is Vice President Pence…The things he was asked to do in the name of loyalty were over the top, unconstitutional, illegal and would have been wrong for the country.”[21]
Never before had American democracy been threatened in quite this way—by a president who wished to make himself dictator and who did not shy from destroying American institutions and trying to terrorize its citizens. He was abetted by organizations on the conservative side of the spectrum and by people who mostly knew better. They helped Trump lead and corrupt a large group of voters with real or perceived grievances—voters who perhaps did not know better—which is a failure of American education. Trump banked on endless lies and conspiracy theories, which those supporting him did not rebut.
That he has completely failed is now manifest. Many are calling for his removal by the 25th Amendment, resignation or impeachment. Pence, who would have to lead a 25th Amendment process, has indicated he will not support such an action—the possibility of his being shot on Capitol Hill notwithstanding. And two cabinet officers—Elaine Chao at Transportation and Betsy DeVos at Education—have resigned, ostensibly because they rejected the January 6 violence but possibly because they didn’t want to be forced to sign a 25th Amendment petition and themselves become targets. No one believes there is any chance that Trump would resign; Pence would certainly not now pardon him.
So that leaves impeachment which appears worth doing although its practicality is uncertain. It could continue even after Trump leaves office. However, it might just be shelved if not acted upon by January 20. If Trump just walks away, he will receive a $200,000 pension, one million dollars a year for travel, Secret Service protection for life and be free to run for president again in 2024. Trump ending his term without sanctions would seems almost like a reward, rather than a punishment, for attempting to overthrow the government and destroy our democracy. Pelosi and Schumer have declared that they are considering impeachment. The next few days will tell the story.
This time, the American people listened to or perhaps already knew the imperative from Samuel Adams.
“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.” — Samuel Adams, 1771
John Jay
[1] Rebecca Tan, Peter Jamison, Carol D. Leonnig, Meagan Flynn and John Woodrow Cox, “Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol, with One Woman Killed and Tear Gas Fired,” Washington Post, January 7, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trump-supporters-storm-capitol-dc/2021/01/06/58afc0b8-504b-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html. Words in italics added.
[2] “Trump Caused the Assault on the Capitol. He Must Be Removed,” editorial, Washington Post, January 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/remove-trump-incitement-sedition-25th-amendment/2021/01/06/b22c6ad4-506d-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html. Words in italics added.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] George F. Will, “Trump, Hawley and Cruz Will Each Wear the Scarlet ‘S’ of a Seditionist,” Washington Post, January 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-hawley-and-cruz-will-each-wear-the-scarlet-s-of-a-seditionist/2021/01/06/65b0ad1a-506c-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Michael Gerson, “Trump’s Evangelicals Were Complicit in the Desecration of Our Democracy,” Washington Post, January 7, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-evangelicals-were-complicit-in-the-desecration-of-our-democracy/2021/01/07/69a51402-5110-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Sara Nathan, “Ivanka Trump ‘Surprised and Hurt’ by Karlie Kloss’ Tweets after Capitol Siege,” Page Six, January 8, 2021, https://pagesix.com/2021/01/08/ivanka-surprised-and-hurt-by-karlie-kloss-tweets/.
[14] Aaron Blake, “What Trump Said Before His Supporters Stormed the Capitol, Annotated,” Washington Post, January 11, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/annotated-trump-speech-jan-6-capitol/.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Philip Rucker, “Trump’s Presidency Finishes in ‘American Carnage’ as Rioters Storm the Capitol,” Washington Post, January 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-rioters-incite/2021/01/06/0acfc778-5035-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html.
[18] “To Heal America, We Must Repudiate Not Just Trump but Also His Politics of Demonization,” editorial, Washington Post, January 7, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/to-heal-america-we-must-repudiate-not-just-trump-but-also-his-politics-of-demonization/2021/01/07/8f6a7388-5117-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Josh Dawsey, Michael Scherer and Matt Viser, “Trump’s Failures This Week Open Rifts in a Republican Party He Has Controlled,” Washington Post, January 7, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-republicans-capitol-mob/2021/01/07/f56300ac-5111-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html.
[21] Ibid.