Following are the highlights of the last twelve days of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America followed by my thoughts on the path forward:
Day 12: Trump refuses to attend the inauguration of Joe Biden/Kamala Harris
Day 11: Trump says he regrets making Peaceful transfer of power video
Day 10: Under pressure from Democrats and Republicans, Trump finally lowers White House flag to half-staff for the death of those killed, including a Capitol police officer, in the January 6, 2021 insurrection
Day 9: House Democrats introduce Article of Impeachment; Republicans Object
Day 8: Vice President Mike Pence refused to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America from office
Day 7: DONALD J. TRUMP IS IMPEACHED…FOR THE SECOND TIME: TEN (10) REPUBLICANS VOTED FOR IMPEACHMENT
Day 6: Without Twitter, Trump goes silent
Day 5: Trump meets with the My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell to discuss…who knows what
Day 4: Democrats in congress grow more afraid that their Republican colleagues in congress will kill them
Day 3: Angry and isolated, Trump remains silent as aides that remain try to control him
Day 2: The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and First Lady Melania Trump snub the President-Elect and soon-to-be First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, as they prepare to leave the White House
Day 1: Trump issues 143 pardons or commutations
Day ½: THE RECKONING: After refusing to participate in the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris inauguration, Trump flees Washington DC aboard Air force One before the swearing in ceremony. And at high noon, he is no longer the Donald J. Trump of the United States of America: He slithers back into infamous anonymity in the opaque world of Donald J. Trump the con man while vowing to remain a powerful political force and kingmaker. Only time will reveal if this is true or not but either way, the high noon of his term in office will likely be a record in history which states that he incited an insurrection, was impeached for a second time…and, possibly, convicted for a first time
Now that Mr. Trump is no longer the occupier of the Oval Office but a private citizen and Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is now the President of the United States of America, Republicans are already singing the same old tune that they always sing when they are not the majority party… “let’s lower the temperature and seek unity. Unity seems to be every other word that Republicans utter now. Unity (unity) is (unity) the (unity) thing (unity) that (unity) we (unity) need (unity) now (unity). Let’s (unity) lower (unity) the (unity) temperature (unity) and (unity) unify (unity) our (unity) country (unity)! Unity (unity) is (unity) what (unity) the (unity) American (unity) people (unity) want (unity)!
And yes, our new president is also calling for unity…and that is okay. But why is it that, in the infinite wisdom of these Washington congressional Republicans, that it is only after Republicans have defied even any notion for unity while they are in power, broken all of the rules and did all of the dirt that they could possibly do each time while they are in power, that the American people want to lower the temperature and have unity only after they are voted out of power?! Republicans are in full control when they are the majority party. But when they are in the minority party, Republicans are in full control (smile, smile, wink, wink – aren’t they Mitch?)…if Democrats allow them to be.
Republicans have always looked upon Democrats as being weak and so have taken full advantage of this (perceived?) weakness. President Biden is right to call for unity and to reach across the aisle to Republicans. But he must not be naive when it comes to his ole friend, Mitch. Anyone who has watched Senator McConnell operate knows that he is a stone cold predator where politics is concerned and that, as such, he will devour anyone in his path when it comes to his agenda. In this respect, Senator McConnell is no different from Donald J. Trump, the recent The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America. If he is not held to account and kept in check he has proven that – just like the recent The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, he will be emboldened.
He has not yet paid a price for what he did to President Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, and for gleefully dubbing himself “The Grim Reaper” and leaving more than 400 bills sent over from the House, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to die without ever making it to the senate floor for a vote. Just one day after the inauguration, Senator McConnell is already busy stirring the pot by fighting with Senator Chuck Schumer and threatening to gum up the works in the senate – you know, kind of like he did with President Obama – if Senator Schumer does not agree to share power exactly the way that he wants him to share it. So please give this some serious thought President Biden and please, please make the right decision. Let what The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America ultimately morphed into before the American people elected you to replace him, possibly saving our democracy, serve as your guide. Do not under any circumstances, even naively, become an enabler that will allow Senator McConnell the slightest possibility to become what Mr. Trump was while he was in office.
There is no doubt that the majority of the American people are completely exhausted as a result of all of Mr. Trump’s antics while he was in office and now that he is gone, want to forget about him and move forward. But despite our exhaustion and the pain that we are certain to experience by continuing to reflect on him and talk about him, we also want to extinguish the buckets of flame and thoroughly clean up this mess that Mr. Trump left on America’s doorstep when he exited the White House. In order to do this, I am confident that the American people are willing to endure this pain for a little while longer.
Among those things that need to be cleaned up (and cleaned out) are the Trump loyalists that Mr. Trump has openly attempted to burrow deep into the Biden administration and other key areas of personnel who have long been the backbone of helping to run the government and attend to its affairs. According to credible reports, it already appears that one of these Trump loyalists placed into a high level of the government’s intelligence community was placed there with nefarious intentions in mind. This makes the insurrection that took place at the United States Capitol allegedly at Mr. Trump’s behest an even more significant event. Follow-up must be done on these things and all evidence collected must be thoroughly scrutinized.
Finally, no matter how long that we must view our government from a bifurcated vision perspective – enthusiastically looking toward a promising future while assuring that we are not waylaid by non-closure of nefarious past events, I proffer that it is extremely important that all of us as American patriots do this. We must do it if we are to retain our republic and continue to work to establish a more perfect union.
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line