Too little, too late doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about the fact that some of Trump’s allies are finally calling out his intolerable behavior. What happened yesterday is no surprise. Disgusting, yes. Horrifying, yes. But not a surprise; we’ve seen this growing for years. With regard to yesterday’s events, specifically, it was no secret. It was well advertised, well in advance. While some Trump allies were asking members of Congress not to join Trump’s movement to reject the electoral college votes, they didn’t seem to have much, if anything, to say to Trump for calling supporters to the Capitol to “take back” a perceived stolen election.
Finally, last night, after a riotous, deadly invasion of the Capitol, more allies found the gumption to say something. But you don’t get to stand up to someone on their way down and then rest assured that you did your part. That’s not courageous, it’s simple. It’s easy to stand up to a man who has unquestionably lost all control, when the nation and the world are calling for someone, anyone, to finally stand up and put an end to this. What might have happened if these people had had the courage to stand up to him sooner? Unfortunately, now we see where the line was, for some. The fear and violence had to be brought to their doorstep. The Capitol had to be stormed, more people had to die in American-made extremist violence in order to see a glimpse of a bipartisan response to this dangerous man. This president has been turbulent from the beginning, to say the least, and this mob was a violent culmination of a four-year-long spiral out of control. Many White House officials served in positions, hoping they could bring about some sense of civility and leadership. Time and time again, that proved to be impossible.
Yesterday’s events were, by definition, domestic terrorism and were brought about by the President of the United States. I have to keep re-reading that sentence because it’s baffling. Baffling, infuriating, shameful. But again, at this point, not surprising. The President of the United States invited these people, emboldened them, lit the fire for them and told them exactly where he wanted them to go. The entire world was watching in shock, with many countries condemning what they saw while a few believed that we were reaping what we sowed. While I appreciate the words from the allies who finally chose to speak out and implore him to take responsibility, I hope they’re taking a serious look at themselves and their part in enabling him for the past four years and beyond. It truly, sadly did not have to come to this.
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