Assuming nothing goes horribly wrong (knock on wood), tomorrow will be Donald Trump’s last day in office. (And even if something does go horribly wrong, actually. If something were to happen to Biden between now and then, Harris would be president. If something were to happen to her, Pelosi would be president. Under no scenario does Trump remain president at this point.) With his recent second impeachment and his departure, the question then turns to “What do we do about him now?”
I know some are calling for the impeachment trial to happen quickly, and some are calling for Biden to pardon him. My personal preference is that we . . . just ignore him, as far as the impeachment goes. Don’t pardon him. Don’t try him. Don’t even mention him for the next 100 days when it comes to all of that. We have far too many other more important things to be focusing on than wasting another second of the country’s time on that man.
That doesn’t mean I want him absolved of everything he might have done. However, we have a justice system that can continue to operate very well without the need for the Senate or the House to get involved. If he’s committed crimes in the past, let those crimes go through the normal avenues, now that he’ll be a normal citizen again. No doubt the news organizations will get themselves into a froth over the proceedings, but hopefully the people leading our country will not.
Did Trump do all the things his detractors claim he did? I have no idea. I’ve read a whole lot of news articles about the man, and I’ve read a whole lot about those claims, but I recognize I wasn’t involved in any of them, and I have no real way of telling who’s right and who’s wrong. But again, that’s what we have courts for, right?
Ultimately, I’d like to move forward and not even think about Donald Trump again. Every second focusing on him gives him the thing he seems to crave more than anything else: attention. And it takes our eye off the other things that we need to be putting our efforts to instead. Distributing the vaccine. Helping the economy. Looking out for those who have lost their jobs. Shoring up our infrastructure. Doing something about climate change. You name it. There are so many other things to work on solving.
That said, I recognize that the things Trump has stood for and the people who he has emboldened aren’t going anywhere. There’s still the very real threat of them coming back to power, whether under Trump himself or under a new leader. That’s a concern we need to continue to address along with the rest of the troubles, so it’s not like we can just ignore the whole issue. But I believe once we can stop wasting all our energy about this one individual, much of that has a good chance of slinking back under the rock it’s been crouched under for the last few decades. Hopefully that will in turn help weaken it. Deprive it of sunlight and energy, and it will wither instead of flourish.
Much of that is probably up to Republicans at this point. It’s their house they need to get into order, and I hope they do it. But for now, at least, I want the country to move on and get to work.
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Bryce, my new friend, I am thoroughly enjoying reading your blog. I’m delighted to know that Cindi and I won’t be the only two Biden supporters in the Farmington Ward. I just read your old blog from January 19th, “What to do about Trump?” You point out some facts most people didn’t understand at the time.
One counter point. The insurrection must be addressed at the highest levels and the perpetrators brought to justice. We need to know the involvement of others in the Senate and House. We need all the facts we can get. I’m willing to “waste and wear out [my life] bringing all hidden things of darkness unto light” for justice. Our nation is not safe when we appease lunatics. They are merely waiting to storm the capitol again. Justice demands that we blast them all to hell. Sununu, Cox, and otherwise even-keeled Republicans are hiding behind calls for moving on and forgetting about their support for a tyrant. They need to face the fire of truth and explain how they can still govern effectively while failing to see what Collins, Murkowski, Flake, etc. so clearly saw all along. We must have a reckoning.
My thoughts. Of course, it is July 8th and we know now that justice will not be served. Sad!
If this is too much commenting, let me know and I will back down. I’m passionate about politics, so I sometimes go overboard.
Randy W. Braby
Comments are always welcome! (Even if they usually end up coming over on Facebook when I share the posts.) I would love it if the people who perpetrated that insurrection were held responsible. At this point, judging by the response it’s gotten politically, I doubt that will even happen. Republicans are convinced it wasn’t that big of a deal, and I have no idea how to persuade them otherwise.