Trump leaves White House as he came in: isolated and unpredictable
It is foundational to our American democracy for a peaceful transition of power, and yet, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to deny a peaceful transition — resulting in an attack on our democracy and the people.
From The Miami Herald:
In his final days in office, Trump found friends and political allies in short supply following the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of his supporters breached the building to try and stop the formal certification of his election loss to Joe Biden. He leaves Washington with his Republican Party out of power and his popularity at the lowest point of his presidency.
Republicans who had tolerated and at times cheered Trump mostly abandoned him. Conservative leaders declined to speak with Trump or offer public praise for him on his way out.
Political figures already estranged from Trump reemerged to describe him as “volatile,” “unstable,” and telling “unbelievable untruth” as they emphasized that they did not want him to seek political office again.
“The divisions in our country, which the president — let’s face it — purposely created, have created tremendous damage to our country. And that’s why I hope to never see him again,” said former Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican.
Trump leaves the White House with a legacy of hate, divisive rhetoric, incompetence and greed. Here is a short list of what Trump leaves behind:
- This year, COVID-19 has taken over 400,000 of our loved ones and left many scrambling to make ends meet while a powerful few reap record profits off this pandemic. Trump failed to implement a federal response, attempted to block relief from states and downplayed the pandemic for months.
- In the last four years, Trump and his GOP allies attempted to block ballots, disenfranchise voters and spread disinformation to sabotage this election.
- For years, Trump has made egregious comments about Black and Brown communities, and has been fueling white supremacist attacks through his hate rhetoric, refusal to denounce white supremacy violence and police killings of Black people.
- Trump and his Republican allies overhauled the U.S. judiciary by ramming through appointee Amy Coney Barrett in order to give the high court a more conservative bench. With the appointment of three Supreme Court justices and the fast-tracking of more than 200 federal judges, Republicans secured control for their own interests.
- Since taking office, Trump has pushed through massive tax cuts for corporations and his wealthy friends, including big polluters who have benefited from the administration rolling back over 100 environmental protections.
Trump will be remembered as the first president to be impeached twice. Trump will also be remembered for fueling an attack on our country in order to hold onto power that we, the people, voted that he should no longer have.
Yet, through it all, we’ve rejected every attempt to divide us based on what we look like, where we come from, or where we live. And under the new administration, together we can begin to tackle challenges like COVID-19, healthcare and racial injustice.
Bottom Line: America is a democracy because people have fought throughout its history to make it one. There’s never been a time when our country wasn’t threatened from within by people who preferred power and oppression over democracy and freedom. We’ve defeated them before. And tomorrow marks yet another win for the people.
