GOODBYE, MR. TRUMP. ENJOY YOUR SECOND TERM. IN THE BIG HOUSE.

by Vijaya Chandrasoma

Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the day that white supremacist terrorists, egged on and incited by the sitting president of the United States, stormed the Capitol of the United States, was one of the darkest days in American history.

Thousands of these terrorists had been assembling in Washington D.C. before the day scheduled for the ceremonial certification of the electoral victory of Joe Biden and his formal anointment as the 46th President of the United States.

Trump knew this day represented, in his deluded mind, his last opportunity to overturn the results of the November election. He had spent weeks whipping up members of his cult with lies of voter fraud, culminating in a call to a march on the Capitol, the nerve-center of American democracy, on the day that the final nail into the coffin of his ambitions was being driven.

On December 20, Trump tweeted, “Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 election. Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild”.

Over 3,000 pro-Trump thugs, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, the Proud Boys, gathered in DC days before January 6. Trump and his attorney, Rudy Guiliani addressed thousands who were to participate in the assault of the US Capitol. Trump spoke for nearly an hour during the “Stop the Steal” rally, at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, one hour before the attack on the Capitol.

Extracts from his rant:

“Our election victory was stolen by the radical left Democrats and the fake news media….We will never give up. We will never concede. When you walk down to the Capitol, I will be there with you.”

There was, in fact, no election theft involved. Vice-President Biden won the November election by a landslide, by 81 to 74 million popular votes, and 306 to 232 Electoral College votes, in what has been described as the most secure election in history. Trump’s spurious allegations of voter fraud have been thrown out by the courts, including his hand-picked Supreme Court, because of the lack of a shred of evidence.

Guiliani also raised allegations of widespread election fraud, saying, “Let’s have trial by combat”. He neglected to explain what exactly he meant by “trial by combat’, but the implication is obvious.

And so began events of violence and anarchy which has reduced the greatest standing democracy the world has ever seen to just another Banana Republic, an unparalleled national humiliation. Violence that enabled terrorists to breach the hallowed grounds and building of the Capitol, while the lawmakers of the nation were in session.

Violence and anarchy that Trump had encouraged before and refused to condemn after.

Violence that has our adversaries beaming with delight at the chaos caused by a president they had helped to elect. Their work was done.

Franklin Roosevelt called the unprovoked Pearl Harbor attack by Japan on December 7, 1941 a “Date which will live in infamy”. Current Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, stated that January 6, 2021, the day the Capitol of the United States was stormed by domestic insurrectionists for the second time in its history, was also such a “Date which will live infamy”. The first time was during the War of 1812, when the British breached and burnt the Peoples House. Over 200 years ago, during a war. By the enemy. This time it was by domestic terrorists, incited by the President of the United States.

Trump has so divided the nation to an extent that “we have met the enemy, and the enemy is us”.

Perhaps the biggest scandal of this armed insurrection was the massive breakdown of security – intelligence, military and police. It was known to everyone that armed groups had been gathering in DC before the certification ceremony on January 6. It was also known that these white supremacists were present at the behest of President Trump, “standing back and standing by” on his orders for violence.

On an occasion as widely publicized and momentous as the ceremony to mark the certification of the 46th President of the United States by members of both Houses of Congress, impregnable security measures were of utmost importance.

Strangely, armed insurrectionists were able to break into the Capitol premises with impunity and little resistance. These thugs were photographed vandalizing Speaker Pelosi’s suite of offices; even the main conference hall of the Capitol, where the meetings were being held and several offices were also breached.

Most videos of law enforcement clearing the Capitol premises show the insurrectionists treated with consideration, even courtesy. One particularly brazen photograph showed a policeman posing for a selfie with a terrorist within the premises. Hardly treatment deserved by armed insurrectionists, when their apparent crimes were sedition and treason. I dread to think how law enforcement officers would have behaved had the Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to storm the Capitol. Not this courteously and gently, I dare say.

During the insurrection, one woman was shot in the chest, and died in hospital. Another woman and two men died in “medical emergencies”. A policeman was killed and several others injured.

A few arrests were made, mainly on curfew offences. The insurrectionists were released and allowed to go home. Perhaps they were treated to a five-course farewell dinner at the Trump International Hotel in DC before their departure. With the bill sent to the taxpayer, of course.

Prosecutors are said to be looking at all actors, including Trump, as charges are being filed against some insurrectionists. The post mortem of this total failure in security is also ongoing. The Chiefs of Police of the Capitol have resigned. Too little, too late. The horse has already bolted.

While the violence at the Capitol was in progress, Trump remained silent, until he was persuaded to address the anarchists in a call to end the violence. Predictably, he expressed his sympathy and encouragement for these terrorists. “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. But you must go home now, we must have peace now. So go home. We love you. You’re very special”. Hardly sentiments to be displayed in addressing terrorists who had just breached the symbol of Democracy of the nation.

Several White House officials have already resigned from their posts after this insurrection, and many more, notably Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser, Robert O’Brien, former Chief of Staff, Mike Mulvaney, Education Secretary, Betsy Devos, some of Trump’s most vocal defenders in the administration, and many others are seriously considering resigning. The rats are jumping from the ship which sank on January 6. Where were they when the ship was sinking, the past four years?

It is now becoming increasingly obvious that Trump is no longer mentally fit to carry out the functions of the presidency. He has been diagnosed to suffer from malignant narcissistic pathology, a polite, psychological way of saying that he is batshit crazy. Although he will be removed in two weeks’ time, he is still capable of causing serious damage to the country, and to President Biden’s fledgling administration. It is too late to impeach him or invoke the 25th Amendment. He should be arrested on mental grounds and installed where he belongs, in a lunatic asylum.

Trump is the Frankenstein, the creation of the modern Republican Party. The GOP, the Party of Lincoln, will be grappling with the abominable legacy of Trump for generations to come. The Party has been so completely emaciated by Trump to an extent that it may not be able to exist in its present form.

The US Congress, led by Vice-President Pence, has now formalized the election of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Biden as the 46th President, and Kamala Devi Harris as the 49th Vice President, of the United States. Harris is the nation’s first woman Vice-President and the first Vice-President of color. Objections made on the basis of election fraud in Pennsylvania and Arizona were shot down in flames by both Houses. Vice-President carried out his constitutional duties flawlessly, no doubt awaiting the tweeting wrath of President Trump.

Trump’s desperation to remain in the White House reveals his terror of the dozens of prosecutions on a variety of crimes he will face when he will no longer have the immunity of the presidency. He may be able protect himself with a self-pardon, which will only give him immunity against federal crimes. Presidential pardons do not give protection against state crimes. He will face a multitude of charges on state crimes, including the New York District Court investigations into tax and bank offences, hush-money allegations, real estate fraud, emoluments and sexual misconduct cases. Georgia also may be considering charging Trump with abuse of power in threatening election officials to subvert state elections. And charges of sedition may also be on the table after his complicity in Wednesday’s insurrection.

President Biden’s task has just been made easier by the almost certain election to the Senate of two Democrats from Georgia. Reverend Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Kelly Loeffler, and Jon Ossoff beat off the incumbent David Perdue, at the run-off Senate elections on Tuesday, January 5. The Senate is now tied at 50 – 50, but Vice-President Harris acts as the President of the Senate, and has the casting vote in case of a tie.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer will be the Majority Leader, and the obstructive shadow of Mitch McConnell will disappear into the impotent hell of the Minority Leadership. This unexpected flip of the Upper House presents President Biden with a wonderful opportunity to push forward the progressive agenda of the Democratic Party.

I would like to take the liberty of ending on a personal note. I have, since Trump’s comments at Charlottesville when he described white supremacists and neo-Nazis as “very fine people”, labeled Trump as one of the most evil men in the history of mankind. I have long been perplexed by those Trump supporters, especially of the brown-skinned Sri Lankan variety, who have been in awe of an obviously narcissistic, criminal, ignorant, raving white supremacist. I hope recent events have persuaded them to open their eyes. I take no pleasure in this “I told you so” moment. But I did tell you so.