The dark chapter that the Donald Trump presidency represents, in the history of the United States, sadly does not end with his impeachment in the House of Representatives, for the second time, nor his departure from the White House in the coming week.
The damage he has done to his country and its recent history, to what was supposed to be the most advanced nation of the 21st Century, with a policy of full inclusion, in line with its new multiracial demography, has been so profound that this society will have to wait until all of the wounds are healed to move on. Meanwhile, of course, other nations in the world will surpass it in this sense, as the U.S. cedes ground on every front.
Essentially Trump and his legacy of extremism, racism, and lies are tattooed upon the Republican Party and its leaders, who over the past five years—since he announced his intent to seek the presidential nomination—dedicated themselves to justifying and defending his excesses, playing the long game and, after his defeat in November 2020, perpetuating the lie of “electoral fraud,” throwing wood on the fire of the fanatic extremists in the current president’s cult, who assaulted the Capitol on January 6, causing five deaths.
No historical or political justification could be found in these actions, of course. The only thing that could be seen was a mob, following the orders of a xenophobe to whom nothing and no one matters—not even his own followers—and to whom the only thing that interests him is creating chaos to avoid being tried for each and every one of the crimes that he has committed, including this attack on the Capitol.
In fact, if you look closely, this doesn’t even smell like a “revolution,” but rather an absurd involution from a part of U.S. society that is incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. It is, in fact, a product of a profound political ignorance among this social group that, instead of pushing for change to eradicate all of the putrefaction that racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment represents, has preferred to return to the painful beginning of this nation: defending white supremacy.
During the debate over Trump’s impeachment for inciting an insurrection, in the House of Representatives, it was detestable to see his Republican enablers calling for “unity” and “reconciliation,” when for five years they fomented division, lies, conspiracy theories, personal attacks, and gutter politics, for the sake of defending a “leader” who favored them politically, although they had to sell their souls to the devil, which they did.
It’s been really embarrassing to see how Republican values no longer have a place in this new style of politics, to serve a supremacist, instead of the Constitution and an entire populace that had maintained democratic stability, despite everything.
The question that many of us are asking is what will happen to the Republican Party, because they are all tainted. The statements of those who now claim to be “indignant” over the violent attempted coup that Trump fomented and incited would be laughable if the consequences of their despicable actions were not so serious.
Don’t forget that after the violent attack, 139 Republicans in the House of Representatives and 8 in the Senate voted to perpetuate the lie that there was fraud in the November 3 election. Their “pariah” suit is fitting them quite well, along with their leader and his very family.
It wasn’t until the images and videos of Trump’s barbarians reverberated throughout the world, and until large corporations began to retract their support—in order to not be associated with a president and a party that promoted trampling on the Constitution, with the goal of changing the results of a legitimate election—that some leaders began to try to distance themselves from the President.
But it’s already too late. Their names, their permanent backing of the obviously barbaric policies that the White House implemented, will follow them for the rest of their days. “What did I do?” they will ask. This: turn their backs on their own country.
How do you purge the Republican Party of Trump when the party is Trump? Do they think that with Trump out of the White House, the slate is wiped clean? Will Trump take his mob and form his own party? Do Republican leaders think that we all have collective amnesia and don’t remember how they embraced Trump and his lies, his prejudiced public policies, his falsehoods, his craziness?
It is said that societies have no memory. This axiom is wrong this time. The last name Trump and the Republican Party will remain united forever and written in the darkest pages of this chapter, of this new “American moment.”
And it’s true that some sensible Republicans abandoned the party, and others have condemned Trump. But we already know, one swallow does not a summer make.
For example, this. Only 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted with all of the Democrats to politically impeach Trump; 197 Republicans, loyal to Trump, voted against it. This president has devoured his party.
Evil, it’s clear, has joined the cult of barbarity.
To read the Spanish version of this article click here.
