After four years of watching the atrocity of the Trump administration, the events that transpired last Wednesday, where Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, should not surprise anyone. Even without considering Trump's direct Tweets inciting violence and encouraging his supporters, MAGA followers have maintained this dangerous attitude throughout this presidency.
We can see this in tragic events like the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where violent white supremacists were called "Very fine people" by the President. Trump knows his audience. He understands the negative effects his reelection would have by denouncing his large fan base, white nationalists and, now, domestic terrorists.
Therefore, taking the previously established racist and violent attitude of extreme Trump supporters and mixing it with words of encouragement as well as false conspiracy claims of stealing the election, the events at the Capitol could be seen from a mile away.
And, yet, despite the outrightly toxic behavior Trump and his colleagues have encouraged over the past four years, many conservatives are pretending to be shocked, devastated, and confused by Wednesday's events. Do not be naive; the destruction of democracy in the Capitol is not only a result of President Trump, but rather, all the republicans that have played into Trump's manipulation of the American people.
Mitch McConnell, for example, was suddenly appalled by Saturday's events, saying "Criminal behavior will never dominate the United States Congress. This institution is resilient. Our democratic republic is strong. The American people deserve nothing less." To this, I ask, where was this sort of heroic attitude when McConnell continued Trump's disproven theories of a rigged-election? Did the American people deserve to be misled on fraudulent claims?
Another sudden justice-warrior, Lindsey Graham says, "The president needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution" after now opposing challenging the election. This is very surprising since, until this moment, Graham has supported Trump's false allegations and has contributed to the questioning of our democracy.
What we're seeing here, as several resign and many no longer support the challenging of votes, is not a moral awakening. It's an attempt to remain afloat as Donald Trump sinks. It's too late, it's cowardly, and it downplays the intelligence of Americans.
We do not need Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, or anyone else to play dumb. We also do not need them to run to the rescue and declare enough is enough; the truth is, it was too much awhile ago, thanks to their lies and participation.
What we need now, as Trump's final days (and possibly premature departure) play out, is participating-republicans to apologize for knowingly contributing to Donald Trump's delusional time in office. We need them to publicly recognize their explosive part in moral corruption and its negative effects on democracy. Last-ditch efforts to try and save yourself and career are, once again, putting yourself and your party over Country. Denial will not help the future of the United States.
