Riot a fittingly chaotic way to finish Trump
I STAYED up far too late watching the cliffhanger run- off election in the US state of Georgia which was set to dictate the balance of power in the Senate.
Little did I know that I would be up the following night viewing what has been called an “insurrection”.
What happened was profoundly shocking and watched on live TV around the world.
Here was the Capitol, the cradle of American democracy, being invaded by a mob incited by the President. Here was a deranged man enraged by Vice President Mike Pence refusing to do his bidding by blocking the counting of the Electoral College votes.
Pence respected the Constitution which he had sworn to uphold. Trump was seeking to destroy it.
For his remaining days in office he must be viewed as a danger to democracy. It would be too difficult to impeach him.
However, the Vice President has now shown that he has the courage to stand up to him. He could perhaps get a majority in the Cabinet to remove the President from office by means of the 25th Amendment on the basis that he is unfit to govern.
I would be delighted to see this happen as it would be a timely humiliation for a despicable man.
Readers of this column know I am no fan of the President but let me remind you of the principal reasons. He knew last March how deadly Covid was. If
In remaining days in office he must be viewed as a danger
he had moved then to protect people perhaps America might have avoided the ongoing carnage of the virus.
This is a grotesque lack of leadership and for this he must be held accountable.
Letitia James, New York State Attorney General, admitted in August last year that she is investigating Trump’s business dealings.
In addition, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is conducting separate probes into him and his business.
This follows on the New York Times publishing Trump’s tax returns, where it showed he wrote off millions of dollars and paid consultancy fees to his daughter Ivanka.
He must be sweating, dreaming of exchanging the White House for the slammer.
So where does this leave Biden? Well on the bright side, the Democrats now have a Senate majority and will be able to push forward with a progressive agenda.
Many decent Republicans would have been deeply shocked by Wednesday’s events. In Trump’s delusional mind he has convinced himself he has 70 million followers. He does not, and it might be questionable whether he still has his base.
In a strange way, Wednesday’s events may have helped heal the divide by showing the people what they have in common, revering what Ronald Reagan called That Shining City On The Hill.