Four years after violent assault on American democracy, Trump stands fully in control of government
So, it’s been four years since an armed mob, screaming for blood and brandishing nooses, stormed the U.S. Capitol, seeking to violently overturn a presidential election.
They were summoned to Washington, D.C., by an outgoing president who had been soundly defeated in the 2020 election. He spoke to them as they assembled, urging them to take action and make him president, the election results be damned.
“We fight like hell,” President Donald J. Trump said. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Then Trump returned to the White House to watch the carnage on TV, ignoring requests to call a halt to it. The mob tried to seize and execute Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and any member of Congress it could find.
Police officers who responded to the melee were attacked. Five people died within a 36-hour period, and many others were injured and/or traumatized by what they experienced and witnessed.
Congress was briefly stirred to action. Trump was impeached a second time, but the Senate fell short of convicting him, voting 57-43 to do so when a two-thirds majority was required.
Remember all of this? Did it all really happen?
There was a special congressional committee. Scores of invaders were arrested, tried and imprisoned. Some apologized for their actions, saying Trump had stirred them to act.
Recall that? Does it matter now?
Trump himself was charged with four felonies for his actions. That only added to a lengthy series of criminal trials he was facing, and indeed, he was convicted of 34 felonies in a New York court for seeking to cover up payments made to a porn star.
So, of course, Trump was assigned to the ash heap of history, a pariah in his party and a national figure of scorn and infamy.
Right? Of course not.
He remained firmly in control of the Republican Party. While several hopefuls took him on in 2024 in a bid to seize the GOP presidential nomination, Trump maintained his grip on the majority of party members.
He drew aces in the election, as first President Joe Biden refused to step aside despite the obvious frailty of his years, and then the Democrats anointed Vice President Kamala Harris their nominee without bothering to hold a single vote.
She soundly drubbed Trump in their lone debate. The economy picked up, inflation slackened and the country was headed in the right direction, it appeared. Did that matter? No.
Somehow, someway, Trump was elected again. Tens of millions of voters either chose to ignore one of the most sinister and dangerous moments in American history, or chose to believe his lies about the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump has, in his usual brazen manner, called it a “day of love.” Tell that to the families of the people killed and wounded, and to the officers who battled the bloodthirsty mob. Tell that to members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, who cowered behind locked doors, hoping the crazed Trumpers did not get to them that dark winter day.
That included Sen. John Thune, the new Senate majority leader, Sen. Mike Rounds, and Rep. Dusty Johnson. Like most politicians, they condemned the mob after it was turned back. They denounced Trump and his angry minions — Thune used the term “thuggery,” and he was correct to do so.
But that soon slipped into the shadows. Instead, Republican politicians realized Trump and his brand of far-right nationalism held the support of most party members. Thune, Rounds and Johnson all endorsed Trump, and celebrated his win.
This has been the Age of Trump. He has dominated American politics for a decade, running in three consecutive elections, and winning twice. If anything, his support is growing, since after losing the popular vote by almost 3 million in 2016 and by more than 7 million in 2020, he defeated Harris by more than 2 million last fall.
Now, it’s Jan. 6, 2025. Congress will count the votes and Harris, in her role as vice president, will announce Trump as the winner.
There will be no armed group of Democrats surrounding the Capitol. No wild band of liberals will cry for blood and try to make Harris president.
Maybe it’s worth trying. It worked for Trump.
He will serve a second term, and has said he would like to overturn the restriction on two terms. Could he claim a third term, as he has mentioned and his acolytes repeated?
What’s to stop him from trying? The Supreme Court, which ruled he has a special immunity from crimes?
Congress? Thune is cautiously exploring what he and the other Senate Republicans will be allowed to do. Speaker Mike Johnson was only re-elected after Trump ordered conservatives to support him. If Johnson displeases Trump, he will soon be tossed out.
The smoke has cleared, the blood has been wiped up and the damage repaired. Trump has triumphed. Jan. 6, 2021, was not an automatic disqualification. He never saw the inside of a prison cell, and most criminal charges have been dropped.
Trump has promised to issue pardons and celebrate the mob. Some will be in Washington to celebrate his return to power.
Two weeks from today, Trump will take the oath of office. That seemed wildly unlikely four years ago, but it turns out, it just didn’t matter to millions of Americans.
Our country is off-track, our leaders are either deranged and dangerous, or whimpering and cowed, afraid of a president who can summon such dark forces to do his bidding when normal efforts fail.
It’s hard to accept this has happened to the United States, but here we are. Things will only get worse.
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
