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Here in South Africa I have been absolutely spellbound in front of my TV set watching BBC, CNN, SKY News, even CGTV since 1PM ET (8PM here in SA) until 12 PM when we our power was cut), watching the unfolding of one of the biggest disgraces in the history of democracy in the US. Outgoing President Trump’s ultimate fall from grace made for totally and utterly absorbing television.
Absorbing as it may have been (and still is), it also looked really REALLY bad.
It looked bad for the departing President Trump, it looked bad for those members of the GOP objecting to the outcome of the elections forcing those two hours debates for private political point scoring, even after the storming of the Capitol. Thank goodness the Wisconsin objections were only expressed in the plenary session and not debated, as no Senator had signed the objection.
And it looked very, very bad for those Trump supporters who joined what was effectively an insurrection, the forced entry into the Capitol and even Senate floor whilst the Senate was in session.
This was Trump at his very worst, as he was spurring people on in his address earlier, offering even to march with them on the Capitol, keeping repeating claims of an election fraud substantial enough to change the result. And refusing initially to tweet anything to make the intruders leave, and when he tweeted, pouring on his request as much fuel to keep the fire going as water to extinguish it. To make matters worse he waited for a long time to order the National Guard to the Capitol.
He will have a serious case to answer for, and it would not surprise me if this came in the form of an impeachment hearing, or the invoking of the 25th amendment.
If there was any doubt about Trump being a reborn Christian, this has now been taken away. He is clearly not. He has not been a good servant of our faith over the last 4 years, and even before that, and “spiritual advisors” like Paula White should have seen this, yet failed to do so. He was, is and will be, an arrogant, blunt and power hungry egotist who used the GOP and (more importantly and destructively) the Christian faith for his own political purposes.
All of which should not wipe out the meritorious political decisions he has made internally and regarding Iran, China, Israel and the Middle East, but may just do so. Yesterday’s trespassing mob, albeit mostly peaceful outside the Capitol, may be Trump’s lasting legacy in the eyes of many. Yesterday’s events should have opened all our eyes as to what kind of person Trump really is, a vindictive and a very, very sore loser.
However, what also became clear as the afternoon’s events unfolded is that the media has a case to answer for.
The CNN coverage of the events yesterday and especially this morning was cringe worthy, making them lose most of their credibility as an independent news channel. Four years of hammering the President from the word go culminated this morning in a disgusting backslapping between two presenters fulminating against Trump and belittling him. Extremely unprofessional and not helpful at all if the nation is to heal after all of this.
As for the responsibility of the Democrats for yesterday’s events, the obstructionist attitudes over past four years, and, of course, the impeachment hearing must have set bad blood not only with GOP Senators and Representatives, but also, and especially, with those dog loyal Trump supporters who yesterday felt inspired to bring disgrace on the US.
May I herewith express the hope that lessons will have been learned, those responsible for the chaos will repent, and that at least the installation of the new President will be treated with the respect that it deserves.