Mourning Democracy

 

This past month I witnessed a funeral procession. The death of American democracy and rule of law. Donald Trump stood with his hand hanging limp by his side near a bible that he once held upside down in a photo op, swore to uphold the Constitution even though he failed to do so in his first term, and was handed the keys to the government. The White House and Congress are under his control, the Supreme Court is branded with his initials. And that is unnerving given what he has pledged to do, which is contrary to what defines American democracy. 

Freedom of the press? He has threatened to seek the removal of licenses of any media outlet that is critical of him – he has specified CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and MSNBC. When he couldn’t control the press in his first term, he worked to undermine the public’s confidence in the press referring to it as  fake news and stating “Just remember, what you’re seeing and hearing (in  the  news) is not what’s happening” but instead people should only rely on what Trump tells them is what is occurring. Freedom of speech and political thought? He has threatened those who oppose him with prosecution  – he’s already listed Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Chuck Shumer, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney. 

Referring to those on the left of the political spectrum as “vermin that must be rooted out” he noted he wouldn’t hesitate to use the military to make arrests if need be. He attempted to sic police powers on his critics in his first term: on August 23, 2018, he gave Attorney General Jeff Sessions a long list of perceived opponents to act on. Freedom of assembly? He has vowed to use the military to remove those who protest. In his first term he wanted the military to disperse protesters outside of the White House and while campaigning encouraged his followers to use violence to eject protesters from his rallies, promising to pay their legal fees if arrested for assault. This is the agenda of an authoritarian. The first clue that he has an authoritarian mindset was when he declared in January 2016  “I could stand in the middle of 5^th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters…” That was his acknowledgment that he now leads a cult of personality, which indeed he is. 

There has never been a leader of a cult that hasn’t been an authoritarian. And to prove his insight, his 5^th Avenue occurred January 6, 2021. He weaponized his followers to assault Congress to stop the democratic process and aid him in staying in power after losing an election that was declared fair by 60 court cases, audits in all states Trump challenged, and even acknowledged by his Attorney General and his daughter Ivanka. Despite the evidence of his motivation his followers ignored or supported the citizen mobilized coup attempt. They also didn’t care that a jury was convinced he sexually assaulted a woman, that he is on tape trying to steal the vote in Georgia, that his campaign sent fake electors to steal the election in swing states he lost, and that he was caught illegally having classified documents he removed when exiting the White House. 

During his first term he displayed characteristics and made decisions that alarmed retired Admiral William McRaven who succeeded in eliminating Osama Bin-Laden and General Stanley McChrystal. In 2019 McRaven shared that after meeting with a number of equally concerned officers “….one retired four-star general grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, “I don’t like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the republic!”According to Trump’s Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Trump wanted to order McRaven and McChrystal back into service and have them court martialed in retaliation.A clearer definition of Trump and his threat to our democracy is provided by many who shared his conservative vision but not his authoritarian means. 

Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff General Mark Milley concluded Trump is “a wannabe dictator” and “is fascist to the core”. Trump’s Chief-of-Staff General John Kelley agreed, saying Trump is “a fascist” and  “prefers the dictator approach…”Esper, Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton and White House lawyer Ty Cobb also warn us Trump is a threat to democracy. Conservative Republican leaders like former Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, Vice President Dick Cheney, GOP presidential adviser David Gergen, Republican campaign strategist Steve Schmidt and conservative patriarch George Will issued similar warnings.   

Trump warned us himself declaring “When someone is president of the United States the authority is total,” to which his Supreme Court eventually collaborated by granting the office total immunity against prosecution for criminal acts making him above the law.  

The American flag should remain at half mast for the next four years, mourning the death of our American values.