I could almost hear the grinding of my liberal/progressive friends’ teeth as they read the first three installments of this series. “Pat,” they’d say, “you’re missing the point. Trump is inherently, obviously, and unchangeably EVIL. Why don’t you just accept that fact? Why belabor us with a political science lesson when the real problem is obvious?”
I did so because–as I pointed out at the start–if the real problem is so obvious, it should be apparent in a comparison of the morality of the policies of the two candidates. It wasn’t. So what is it, that is, what makes some people so certain Donald Trump is a cross between Hitler, Darth Vader, and Pennywise (the evil clown in Steven King’s IT).
Many people have hated the very idea of a Trump candidacy long before he provided the comments or the actions which now form the basis of that loathing. I started writing a piece about that five years ago, and it’s still marinating, waiting for when we can all claim to be post-Trump for me to introduce my theory. Setting that aside for the moment, most people who hold this view cite two things: his boorish behavior, of which there is ample evidence, and his actions leading up to and culminating in January 6th. As to the former, there is no defense for his many sins against charity. The man seems incapable of behaving well, and of moderating his bad impulses. As a disqualification, however, it is weak. No one who has listened to the Nixon tapes, read the many quotes (and eye-witness reports) of LBJ’s crudity, or perused the several accounts of the Kennedy family can be shocked by Trump’s tweets, rallies, or misogyny. Trump would never admit it, but he is a piker when it comes to such things.
Which leaves January 6th. I went back and read (link) what I wrote about that event, to see how it aged (I thought well). What I later learned through the courts and January 6th commission was how much planning was involved by some of the participants, although none of it effective (gladly). Also, that the gist of Trump’s intent was to intimidate Vice President Pence into not certifying the election. This was Trump-in-a-nutshell: loud, braggadocious, absent any knowledge of how things work, yet somehow hopeful he’ll get what he wants.
Join me in a thought experiment about that day. Imagine it really was a coup attempt. Would the planners and plotters not have downloaded the map of the Capitol showing where the members’ offices were? Was marching through the hallways chanting, “where is Nancy?” (Pelosi, then Speaker of the House) really part of the plan? What if they had caught up with her, and the Vice President, and even strung them up (another chant of the day)? Would it have stopped the election results from being certified, or changed the outcome? No. Believe me, the day was bad enough, but could have been much worse. But even if it had been so, nothing would be different. It was all without purpose, other than to assuage Trump’s ego. (One side note: we should all take a second look at Mike Pence. Whatever you thought about him, when the moment came, he stood in the breach).
What I wrote at the time was I thought Trump should have been impeached for simply interfering with the constitutional process and prevented from ever running for federal office. That’s not what happened. Democrats in the House and Senate inflated the event (which was quite serious as a riot and interference) into an insurrection, comparing it to the civil war and wanting Trump found guilty of fomenting the violence. This proved too much even for GOP Senators who would have been happy to be done once-and-for-all with Trump, and he was acquitted by the Senate. This left Trump’s supporters aggrieved, Progressives enraged, and everybody else weary. But of course it was only a step along the way, and here we are again, with another Trumpified election.
To those who believe Trump is the epitome of evil, ask yourself whether you always felt that, and if it colored your views as time went on. To those who say, “No, it was his policies, his language, his actions,” I would say only this: understand that everything you believe about this man was known on November 3rd, 2020, and yet seventy-four million Americans voted for him, which was a total only surpassed once in American history. Believing that that many Americans are not only complicit, but actively support evil must be exhausting, and perhaps requires a little self-reflection.
Finally, to those who view January 6th as a dis-qualifier: I certainly understand. It is surprising to me that people who would call out any irregularity in the justice system as cause for overturning a guilty verdict seem blind to the fact that Trump was tried (impeachment being the trial process specified in the Constitution) and found not guilty. Yes, he is awaiting another trial, but one that has only spotlighted the challenges of such charges outside the constitutional measure (i.e., impeachment). Yes, politics played a major role in the impeachment result, as was intended by those who wrote the language. But the result stands. You can’t simply deny a fact produced by the system, or so Trump’s supporters are often told when he denies the election results.
I hope no one takes this series of blog posts as suggesting you should vote for Donald Trump. Rather, it was meant to show that there are reasons and policies which could lead you to support either the former President or the current Vice President, and it is on that basis you should choose. Not on some media-driven standard of morality which leaves people debating Hitler analogies.
Paraphrasing Lt. Colonel Kilgore, “someday this (Trumpian) war’s gonna end.” We can start preparing for this today by treating the election as a contest, not an Apocalypse Now.
Finally, I know that some of my friends are thinking I’m trying too hard to just look like I’m independent, that I don’t really mean what I say. I guess my ambivalent views are best described by what the Holy Father, Pope Francis, said recently about the election: “One must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it.” I would add pray on it. I’m sure that’s what he meant.
Go vote!