On January 20th, 2017, Donald J. Trump began a historic term as President of the United States. In the ensuing 4 years, he's been accused of a litany of crimes, norm breaking acts and moral and ethical failures...
A short list includes his obstruction of Justice in relation to the Mueller investigation, the solicitation of foreign assistance during an election, threatening to hold up US aid if Ukraine didn't investigate his political opponent, redirecting military units to his overseas businesses, campaign finance violations, negotiating with a private business for profit while President, separating kids from their parents at the border, repeatedly calling for AG Barr to investigate his political enemies and the behemoth of them all, undermining the results of a free and fair election, up to and including an attempted coup. Should Trump pay a deep and dear price for this treasonous, traitorous behavior? You bet he should, but...
Trump began his political career on the lie that President Obama was born elsewhere and is therefore an illegitimate President. After winning the Republican nomination and Presidency, Trump media quickly got on board. They watched his Twitter feed, statements coming from the WH lectern and comments coming directly from the President and transformed their news desk around it, facts be damned. Nefarious actors on social media, both foreign and domestic, helped to keep the disinformation ecosystem alive and well. The Washington Post has reported that since being President, Trump has lied or mislead the public over 30,000 times. The result... a nation more divided than anytime since the Civil War.
The degree to which the American public, as a whole, is misinformed, ill-informed or otherwise unable to discern the truth, accounts for almost half the nation. In my personal travels, I've lost good friends over the farce this one man has levied on the American public. His supporters fervently believe what he says. They feel that because he has access to information that we don't, that the information that comes from him must come with the full weight and power of the U.S. and thus, must be true. They then turn on their news channels (Facebook's & Twitter's Algorithm, Parler, Limbaugh, Levin, Hannity, Tucker, Ingraham, OANN, Newsmax) and get a full dose of confirmation that what Trump has said, is in their point of fact, true. A good friend, let's call him Robert, brought to my attention how the election was rigged and why Trump had actually won. He shared charts and videos, talked about affidavits, and presented everything he "saw" that backed up his claims. In a text chat, Robert, on Nov. 12th, 2020, sent me the following...
ROBERT: "Trump just tweeted this: “REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN. 941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED. STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN.” Chanel Rion, OANN"
ROBERT: "Dude, I'm telling you...I don't know of any situation where he's tweeted about something like this unless he knows he's right" ROBERT: "he tweeted about Obama spying on his campaign...and within a year he was proven to be right...they were indeed spying" ROBERT: "He knows far more than you realize about the manipulation took place here." BRUCE: "I can literally show you tens of thousands of times he's tweeted and been wrong or straight up lied" ROBERT: "Bruce, keep your mind open. He would not tweet this if he did not have the intel that this happened"
Trump media picks up on every piece of this and amplifies the signal to the Trump base as their "alternative facts". This conversation with Robert, though short and anecdotal, is in my opinion, a true representation of the broader problem... IN TRUMP WE TRUST! Extrapolate Robert out to tens of millions of Americans and you can easily see and understand January 6th and all else that may occur in the future. In my opinion, we have a choice. Trump or American democracy.
Trump being placed in jail would do a lot for those who did not support him. The sense that no man is above the law would hold the moment, make us proud that justice has prevailed. It will give us the license to go back to our conservative cohorts and smack them in the face with our newly gained justice. We would feel as though he's getting exactly what he deserves, and the fact is, he would be. Going after our political enemies gives some of us a euphoria that can only be felt in certain conditions... this being one of them. Trump has lived a life of crime and privilege, has caused mass mayhem the World over and, to date, has paid no cost for his crimes. At the end of the day however, he is but one man.
We can only hold on to our republic if most Americans believe in the system we've built. That leads me to the topic of this article. President Biden MUST offer a full and unequivocal pardon to Trump, under one condition. Donald J. Trump has to give an honest accounting of his entire pre-Presidency and Presidency. In other words, he must truthfully undergo a political proctology exam along the lines of the Truth and reconciliation commission in South Africa or other parts of the world.
Trump won't be allowed to lie his way through this multi-week / month's long commission. At the end of it, assuming it is successful and complete, Trump would receive his full unfettered pardon. Those above my pay scale should decide if all involved should receive a full pardon for their actions. My focus is on Trump and Trumpism. The reason I fervently believe this is necessary is because of Robert and the other Robert's all over the country. The Robert's in Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and all over the nation need to hear that they were lied to, not from me, or as they phrase it, the liberal or mainstream media. They need to hear it from Trump and from Trump with receipts. Until they themselves hear from the liars and the crooks, in their own words, in their own narcissistic way of self preservation, we will never get past the era of Trump and Trumpism.
Those who would continue to spread and bathe in Trumpism for their own political gain are preparing for their political futures, nothing more, nothing less. The Josh Hawley's, Ted Cruz's of the world, and some who we've not yet come to know, are waiting in the wings to pick up the mantel. They've gotten a taste of the all powerful and can see, very clearly, how and why Trump was successful.
It'll be someone more effective than Trump and much smarter. Trump, in my view, is no more than a new age Wilhelm II (1859-1941). It's what follows that concerns me and if we take a wait and see approach, it'll be too late. Trumpism must die in the weeks and months ahead or at the very least, take a substantial blow. We can, to borrow a phrase, "lock him up", but this stands to give what's next more power, not less. We'd be better served to give Trump the option. Tell your supporters and the world what you've done, how you've done it, why and who helped and receive a full and unfettered pardon from the President of the United States. Otherwise, take your chances with what's to come. With this, along with similar offers from States Governors and Prosecutors, the move towards reconciliation can begin.
My hope is that once faced with his own reality and ultimately a high chance of imprisonment, though it will be tough, he'll choose self preservation over fight or flight. The day's and years that follow, will give space for a nation to heal. A Robert and a Bruce can go back to talking about their families, the things they have in common, the time they've missed and yes, the politics they do and don't share. Congress will be able to go back to fighting about health care and political issues and not whether conspiracy theorists like Marjorie Taylor Greene is the new face of the party or if Lynne Cheney is sufficiently conservative. There are threats to this nation that are far and wide... it's time we get to focusing on them.
Biden should stand up a truth and reconciliation commission and invite Trump to participate. Over time, if the stars align, he might feel it's in his best interest.