January 6, 2021, was the saddest day in American history that I have ever witnessed. During my seven decades on earth, I remember well the nation’s distress when John Kennedy was assassinated, the bizarre scene when Richard Nixon boarded the helicopter at the White House after he resigned in disgrace, the agony of watching the World Trade Center crumble on live television. Those events were horrible but they also brought the nation together. Donald Trump’s attempted coup d’état drove us apart and disturbed me more than any of them.
In a televised scenario straight out of a cheap action movie set in a Third-World dictatorship, he and his minions drew a crowd to Washington, then incited them to attack the Capitol while Congress was trying to count the votes from the Electoral College. The mob they formed succeeded in halting this solemn last step in the peaceful transition of the presidency by violently following Trump’s explicit directives to show their power and fight. In response to his command, they broke into the House and Senate chambers in the Capitol building. The chaos was broadcast live to the world, indelibly stamping America as a failed state.
The insurrection Trump and his gang unleashed killed nine people as well as the illusion that America is the world’s beacon of freedom and democracy. By repeatedly denying the legitimacy of the most transparent and secure election in the nation’s history, Trump and the Republican Congressmen and Senators who lined up with him committed sedition. They incited and enabled traitors whose goal was to overturn the elected government and replace it with a totalitarian regime led by Donald Trump.
The events weren’t spontaneous. They had been planned and promoted well in advance by organized rightwing white supremacist groups in direct response to Trump’s repeated calls to action to deny the legitimate winner of the election, Joe Biden, his office on January 20. The domestic terrorists under his command traveled from all over the country with their guns, bombs, body armor, Trump banners, American flags defaced with blue stripes, and heads full of Q-Anon delusions. They came with the announced intention to disrupt the function of government, an act of sedition.
Trump’s clarion message to revolt was echoed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, hundreds of Republican leaders at all levels, the president’s smirking family members, and his team of demented lawyers. The seditious message was further amplified by the major and minor media who denied the legitimacy of the election based on nothing but rumor and innuendo and the social media posts of conspiracy-addled Trump followers.
His message accomplished exactly what Trump wanted. Within four weeks after the election that produced an undeniable seven-million-vote margin for the winner, over two-thirds of Republicans in America believed the vote was fraudulent simply because Trump said so, over and over and over again. Eight weeks after the election, on January 6, thousands of his election deniers acted on that delusion and attacked the Capitol.
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the assault is that the mob believed it was somehow doing its patriotic duty by destroying the democratic process. It’s not surprising they feel that way; the language used by the Trump gang is heatedly patriotic. Adolph Hitler’s brownshirts believed they were answering the high call of patriotic duty, too, when they stormed through Germany on Kristallnacht. At least they had the dignity to wear uniforms rather than home-made Viking helmets and faux-camo cargo pants from Wal-Mart. As the mob ransacked the seat of America’s government, Trump and his daughter Ivanka both sent messages lamely suggesting the terrorists go home while lavishly praising them for their patriotism.
Sadly, the insurrection didn’t end when the mob left Capitol Hill and a shaken Congress reassembled to do its duty and finish the ceremonial vote count. Shameless showboats Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin McCarthy, and other members of the aptly-termed Sedition Caucus protested the electoral votes of two states in the wee hours of the morning, further spreading the fake message that the election was somehow fraudulent. Over a hundred Republican Representatives joined them in voting to deny the certified Electoral College votes.
Meanwhile, the terrorists walked like grinning tourists around Washington, celebrating their victory and showering Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with selfies of themselves desecrating the halls of Congress. About half of the rioters were arrested and a quarter of them incarcerated but Trump is expected to pardon them once he returns to office. Neither the exalted leader nor his team of sycophantic officials suffered any repercussions.
The violence and hatred will never end because the lies will never end. The hate groups can be expected to continue their assault on legitimate government all over the nation whenever Trump calls for them to rise again. Why would they stop?
Even if Trump is somehow miraculously muted in this, his second term, his poisonous message will spew from the lips of the would-be monarchs who stand in line panting to succeed him. The Republican Party is full of power-hungry demagogues eager to tap into the mob Trump built for them. Given the opportunity, they are ready to step forward to ride the nativist tsunami he incited. January 6, 2021, was not the last time they will attempt to eviscerate our republic.
Updated from: The Journal of My Seventieth Year