Even as we move back to a traditional governance model at the federal level, our attention will be focused backward as the second impeachment trial of former President Trump begins in the Senate. Though House prosecutors will undoubtedly call a few witnesses, most points will be reinforced through the presentation of video gathered from a wide variety of sources, that track Trump’s words at the rally, through the march to the Capitol, and then the violent rioting that took place. We will be reminded of the pattern of lies and deception that solidified violent views of government, and of the goading rhetoric that was unveiled in the 2016 presidential race and that escalated as time went by. Trump capitalized on the dissatisfaction with American government that many felt. Additionally, his rhetoric disparaged immigrants, women, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Chinese government, the European Union; and promoted an ultranationalist profile for our country.
Over four years, the administration aligned with totalitarian regimes run by Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Recep Erdogan of Turkey, and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
In a twisted mix of election commitments made to Republican voters (judiciary appointments, less government and lower taxes) Trump’s umbrella came to include some regular Republicans as well as dissatisfied Democrats, white supremacists, anti-Semites, the Christian right, former military, Libertarian Conservatives, Q-anon and the Freedom Caucas under the spell of his own behavior and values. Though he has been removed from both the Facebook and Twitter platforms, and Fox News has been hit with a $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic, and the Parler platform was dropped by AWS and is now being hosted by Epik, I expect that it won’t be long before he does more than mutter about creating a new Patriot party.
One may be sure that grievances associated with the impeachment of Trump will get aired during the Senate trial. Republican senators are intimidated and worried about what their votes might cost them in their home state if their vote is seen as anything but loyal to Trump. If he is able in the next two years, Trump will no doubt work to unseat any House or Senate members who voted for impeachment.
If I did not see the January 6th insurrection and the coming impeachment trial as our most pressing risk, I would not be writing once again about Trump. Our large technology platforms have become breeding grounds for complaints and organizing by militia groups. That volume will increase in the next week. In surveys since the election, 70% to 80% of Republicans “don’t buy the results."
The trial takes place at the location of the insurrection. The Capitol is now surrounded by a tall fence as well as thousands of National Guardsmen left in place since January 6th because of concerns for the safety of our Congressional representatives, especially in the coming week. Though we may put the impeachment behind us after this week, the issues of confidence in government sit squarely in the category of “known risks” as indictments of the insurrectionists continue. It is against the backdrop of the trial that the new president has a Herculean task: to restore confidence in government, to deliver support to state and local government in the fight against the coronavirus, and to improve both economics and equity for all citizens. The trial is only the first pass at America as it examines itself against these challenging issues.