Using violence to achieve political goals violates the very foundations of any democracy. We should all denounce political violence of all forms. This includes the assassination attempt on Trump in the past week. We have elections for a reason – no one should ever attempt to subvert the electoral process by assassinating a politician they dislike. What the would-be-assassin attempted is simply reprehensible.
But denouncing political violence goes beyond just the past week. Donald Trump was a victim of political violence in recent days, and he was also complicit in political violence on other days.
Four years ago, Trump lost a closely fought election. Instead of conceding defeat, he litigated the election result in every avenue available – as is his right. But even his Republican allies, including Vice-President Pence, Georgia’s Governor Kemp, and numerous Republican secretary of states and Republican appointed judges, all concluded that Trump had truly lost the election.
Not satisfied, Trump summoned an angry mob to the capitol on the day the election results were to be certified. He told them to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue… go to the Capitol.” He told them to “fight… fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” And that’s exactly what the mob did.
They stormed past the barricades, assaulted the police, and marched into the Capitol building. They chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” They broke into Nancy Pelosi’s office, leaving her staff cowering under a table in a dark room for over two hours. They marched towards the House chamber in an attempt to find their targeted politicians, prompting security to evacuate the lawmakers in the middle of their proceedings.
Perhaps all of the above can be excused as a bloodthirsty mob that Trump had never intended. Perhaps all Trump wanted was for his supporters to protest peacefully outside the Capitol building. But what he did next made him complicit. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican and Trump’s close ally, cowering in fear of the rampaging mob, called Trump and begged him to call off the mob. Trump refused to do so, telling Kevin that “these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
To quote a Republican member of Congress, “he is not a blameless observer. He was rooting for them.” To quote congressman Anthony Gonzalez, a Republican from Ohio, “he was not sorry to see his unyieldingly loyal vice president or the Congress under attack by the mob he inspired. In fact, it seems he was happy about it or at the least enjoyed the scenes that were horrifying to most Americans across the country.”
From the moment the mob breached the building security, Trump received numerous urgent intervention requests – from Mark Meadows, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Laura Ingraham, Mick Mulvaney, Donald Trump Jr, Reince Priebus, and Sean Hannity. Despite this, he spent multiple hours watching the mob rampage the Capitol building. To quote his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, “{Trump} doesn’t want to do anything {about the riot}”. According to Meadows’ aide, Trump approved of the rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence”. It was only in the late afternoon, a couple hours later, that Trump finally told his mob to leave the Capitol building… adding in that “we love you, you’re very special.”
There is absolutely no place for violence in our political process. As a victim of political violence, I wish Trump a full recovery. But as someone complicit in political violence himself, he is grossly unfit for any political office.
Related links:
Jan 6 timeline
Outlook Zen 