Wednesday, January 6, 2021, would go down in history as the day a sitting American President, Donald J. Trump, staged an unprecedented coup against an incoming President, Joe Biden, at the Capitol, the symbolic centre of American Democracy.
Thank God, honourable men and women in the United States Congress relied on the constitution and the time-tested democratic institutions it created to abort this poorly executed coup, and put the erratic, power-crazy Trump to shame. Trump should tell the world why he wants to destroy the US because he lost an election.
If any of the 44 Presidents before him had tried to derail democracy like he has done, there would have been no America for him and his family to migrate to from their native Germany. Perhaps, being Hitler’s original compatriot, he shares the same dictatorial DNA with the Nazi leader. Trump tried to govern democratic America like a maximum ruler.
His “America first” policy is a smokescreen to mask his craze for power, and, having lost it in a free and fair election, he is doing all to instigate an insurrection against the incoming administration of his opponent, Biden.
Every so often, an individual dies to save a nation; but no nation is ever destroyed for the sake of an individual. Trump wants to destroy America for his own sake. I feel sorry for his many supporters like me in the Christian fold who believe that his election was divinely ordained to save America from its slide into Satanism. However, even if his presidency has any spiritual significance, the way he has gone about running America leaves much to be desired.
I cannot be swayed by the argument that, because Trump openly identified with Jesus more than any President in living memory, he could go ahead and continue to abuse power to the extent he likes. God is not the author of confusion and we know that He would not endorse any form of illegality to achieve His purpose. Since God used the existing democratic process to get Trump elected, he would not subvert the wishes of the American people. For, even God is bound by His own laws.
Well, I am not an American, so, I have little to say about his administration, but the wider issue here is the attack he has launched on the world’s greatest democracy. Several countries model their constitutions on that of the USA and look forward to it for leadership on the global stage.
Whatever happens in America tends to have a ripple effect around the world. That’s my concern. Trump has set a bad example with the way he encouraged his supporters to storm Capitol Hill and disrupt the confirmation of Biden’s election by a join session of Congress.
Five people lost their lives in the melee in a country that has never recorded any form of election violence in its more than 200 years of democracy. He is also the first president in the last 150 years to refuse to concede defeat in the US presidential election.
Trump has set some bad records during his four years in the White House, and I doubt there would ever be a President like him again. Perhaps, to prevent this kind of shameful occurrence in the future, US House Democrats have gone ahead with an impeachment process for the second time in Trump’s presidency.
If it scales through, he would be the first President to be impeached twice and this impeachment would effectively put an end to his troubled political career, as he would be barred from running for public office for life.
Many argue that, since Trump’s tenure effectively comes to an end next week, Wednesday, January, 20, 2020, there’s no need to impeach him. I disagree. The impeachment should go on because it would deny Trump an attempt to contest again in 2024; moreover, it must be on record that he was sanctioned for instigating an insurrection against his own country, to deter future leaders from such criminal behaviour.
There are other aspects of Trump’s behaviour that should be thoroughly investigated, like his use of Twitter to announce important policy decisions, terminate appointments, and send out toxic messages to opponents or perceived enemies. The lawmakers ought to look at how the protocols of state should prevent a sitting President from using social media platforms as recklessly as Trump did. If Trump didn’t abuse the use of the Twitter platform, he would not have been able to instigate the failed rebellion.
US lawmakers should also proceed to amend the constitution and make it easier for a Presidential transition to take place, once the election has been certified, regardless of whether the defeated incumbent concedes defeat or not. All the loopholes being exploited by Trump and his cohorts in the transition process should be effectively blocked to make for smooth transition in the future.
Congratulations, President-elect, Joe Biden, and Vice-President-elect, Kamala Harris.
Weekend Spice: Terminate any affiliation that no longer bears fruit. That’s why Jesus cursed the fig tree.
Ok folks, thanks for reading. Let’s do it again next week. COVID-19 is real, please, keep safe and stay motivated.
•Ayodeji is an author, pastor and activist. Reach him on 09059243004 (WhatsApp, email and SMS only).