We may survive the pandemic, but not survive Trump
The incredible story since Joe Biden took office is the revelation of what a malevolent and contemptible wretch Donald Trump actually is. There are many of us acquainted with Trump's history who never thought he was fit to hold the the job of president, and we attribute his attaining of that position only to a massive moral and intellectual failure of the nation. But it turns out, there is no measure to how despicable he is. And how far the nation has fallen.
Trump's ascent to the presidency is a symptom of the failure of American democracy. The United States is no longer a bastion of freedom, equality, and justice. It has relegated itself to the status of a republic that struggles with the premises on which it was founded and developed. While Joe Biden may announce that America is back, the fact is that America has shown the world an unwholesome weakness that is now engraved into its history.
A significant number of Americans are entranced and smitten with adulation as Trump puts on displays of juvenile petulance and malevolence. They accept his puerile charades as leadership. However, his depravity is much deeper than his surface displays. It goes to the heart of a government that is supposed to function as an ethical democracy and undercuts the bond of trust necessary to operate. Trump attempted a coup d'etat after he lost the election. The Jan. 6 insurrection was the result of an intense effort to overthrow a duly elected government. Trump's coup was intended to reject the certification of the 2020 election and then assume control of the government. He tried to use the Department of Justice as his subversive force. The acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen who replaced William Barr, was sent constant messages from Trump's office with purported evidence. As Trump tried to get the department to investigate his false claims that the election was fraudulent, top officials termed his plotting "pure insanity" and rejected it. At one point the acting Attorney General told Trump's emissaries that if they had any real evidence of election fraud, they could walk into the FBI Washington field office at any time and present it. Sixty-some lawsuits by Trump stooges contending election fraud were dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have done extensive reporting on Trump's efforts to involve the Justice Department in his efforts to overturn the election. Legal scholars note that the GOP resists efforts to investigate the narrative leading to the insurrection because it would implicate many Trump loyalists in Congress in an act of treason.
Trump's dishonest treachery included the Department of Disease Control as the pandemic spread through the country according to a New York Times report on the mishandling of the pandemic:
Over the summer, political appointees at the health department repeatedly asked C.D.C. officials to revise, delay and even scuttle drafts they thought could be viewed, by implication, as criticism of President Trump.
While Americans quibble over Trump's term as president, the world at large has no illusions about what kind of man he is, and what kind of jeopardy he is to democracy. Here are the results of a world poll from the Pew Research Center:
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