Today is President Shitgibbon’s last full day in office. He is expected to pardon over 100 miscreants, liars, cheats, and various other criminals who are reflected in his horrible existence. In the last 48 hours, he has continued to do his level best to lay landmines and other booby traps to sabotage any chance of success for incoming President Biden – the latest being an order to overturn travel restrictions related to COVID – as if 407,000 dead Americans caused by his incompetence were not tragic enough. Fortunately, that will be an easy one for Biden to stop as he does what Trump could never do, namely organize the federal government to a proper response to the pandemic.
However, many people, myself included, think it is worth noting his departure because of how it shows us just how close America came to an authoritarian state – and how much danger still exists from the forces that he unleashed. Joe Scarborough is totally correct when he says:
“The danger to the Republic is the people on the right, people on the left, people in the center, people who believe in nothing, have seen how easy it is to break into American democracy and actually put it a risk,” Scarborough said on Tuesday’s show, alluding to Trump’s post-election efforts to change the results, from dozens of baseless legal cases to encouraging his followers to march upon the Capitol on the day of the election certification, causing a riot that led to six deaths.”
“If Donald Trump weren’t so stupid, he actually could’ve pulled this off,” he continued.
The danger is real and can be seen at the beginning of efforts in Texas and Wisconsin to enshrine voter suppression and specific means to rig the allocation of electors. Our boy Allen West, having moved yet again to another state to make trouble has come out and blatantly said that is his goal.
John Pavlovitz wrote a post today that voices yet another truth. Donald Trump is and was a symptom of a greater American sickness.
Our progress as a nation now is predicated on authentic dialogue and honest conversation, no matter how brutal and disheartening those endeavors are.
In other words, you’ve let us know what we’re really dealing with here and while it’s been rightly disturbing, it’s also been revelatory. That’s the thing about that kind of harsh light: you’re forced to see everything. Beauty and monstrosity equally illuminated.
Let me be clear: you have been the least qualified, least knowledgeable, most malignantly horrible President we’ve ever had, and I fear gravely for the world all our children will inherit because of you.
I believe you’re reckless, bitter, and completely reprehensible; that you represent the very worst of us.
You are a staggeringly small and insecure man whose perpetual neediness and unprecedented emotional insecurity have made our national a planetary punchline.
But in being these things, you’ve allowed me to see the truth about myself, about people I love, about people in our neighborhood—about nearly half our nation.
And in the process you’ve also shown me that I am not alone in resisting this ugly thing you’ve exposed about us.
You’ve generated a larger, louder, more passionate response to it all and this is where I find true gratitude in these days:
in the 81 million who have been horrified for every single day you have been here; those who’ve grieved and despaired and been outraged.
So take tomorrow and celebrate – decent Americans who have suffered through this Hegelian landscape and, like me, were attacked by men who were supposed to be “honorable” – have more than earned the right to rejoice in his departure. Then on January 21st, it will be time to get back to work to save our fragile democracy from the forces of fascism.
But for today and tomorrow we can have some fun with it:
And I’ll let Randy Rainbow take us out:
Footnote: I made it through 4 years without using the terms “President” and Trump” together in the same sentence in conversation or correspondence. It’s the little victories that count. Trump was and will never be fit to have the term President by his name.