Mike Pence did the right and sane thing Wednesday when he refused President Donald Trump’s demand that he illegally award Electoral College votes to Trump during Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s election. As profiles in courage go, it was smaller than the raised-relief portrait on a Cameo ring. Even if Pence had wanted to throw the election to Trump, the ceremonial powers he commands would not have allowed him to do it. But even so, it marked one of the few times in view over the past four years that Pence met Trump craziness with grit rather than servitude.
Pence’s determination to do the right thing would have likely been the lead story in the Thursday newspapers or at the very least a celebrated topic of discussion by the commentariat. But we all know it didn’t turn out that way. Trump encouraged his supporters to come to Washington on the day of certification, addressed them at a rally on the Ellipse just prior to the certification ceremony, and offered to march with protesters to the Capitol where “we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” Although Trump reneged on the offer, scuttling back to the White House to watch TV, his minions took to the Capitol where they did more than cheer. They breached barricades, stormed doors, broke windows, rampaged the halls and squatted in Senate chambers.
Consider it Trump’s perfect revenge on Pence’s special day.
Now, Trump didn’t tell his congregants in his speech to fly into the Capitol Dome and disrupt the Biden certification. But he didn’t really have to. He had told them he would never concede and that their voices — his voice — must be heard in Congress. They knew what Trump wanted them to do, and Trump proved they were doing his will by waiting 24 minutes after they broke into Congress before tweeting any displeasure with their lawless. Even then, his chastisement was almost congratulatory. “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” he tweeted at 2:38 p.m. and “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!” at 3:13 p.m. Not until 4:17 p.m. after his people had terrified the nation did he ask his people to “go home.”
It’s a mystery why Trump so loves collecting payback, but it’s been a constant theme of his career. He has threatened journalists, actors, beauty pageant queens, businessmen, politicians, corporations, overseas allies, and even the entire states of New York and California with retribution for allegedly crossing him. Most of the time these threats turn out to be empty but other times, like today, his malicious will gets done. It takes little imagination to visualize Trump watching the riot video on Fox on Wednesday afternoon with a gleeful grin on his lips and gloating to his staff, I sure got them back, didn’t I?
Pence wasn’t the only object of Trump’s revenge. He wanted to extract pain from the victorious Democrats who only minutes later would the Senate from Repubican control. But he especially wanted to stick it to the Republicans in the House and Senate who had declined his invitation to oppose the certification. So what, Trump probably thought, if the riot would also frighten the bejesus out his stalwarts in the two chambers — when collecting revenge you’ve got to allow for a little collateral damage.
As long as we’re counting up the objects of Trump’s revenge, let’s not forget you, the citizens and residents of this country. In his own way, Trump hates all of you who didn’t join his seditious campaign to roll back a fair election, and he’s horrifying you in return by making possible the scenes of mob insurrection and chaos on Capitol Hill that played out on TV today. He wants you to feel threatened and exposed. He wants you to think all institutions except for the Trump presidency are weak and ineffectual. He wants to smell and taste your fear. He wants revenge on you.
Ever since Trump lost the election, he’s been playing a game of “delay the day” after another. Filing baseless lawsuits. Embracing new conspiracies about the election. Convincing impressionable and cynical Republicans to indulge his election fantasies. Taunting state election officials with vague threats if they don’t fix the game in his favor. Wednesday’s installment broke new ground for Trump, as he forced Congress to postpone the Biden certification. His inordinate fear of losing has blinded him to the fact that all of his machinations make him out to be an even bigger loser. But delay the day is not a game that can go on forever. As Trump will soon learn, postponing the inevitable is only another way of admitting defeat.
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Send postponement notices to [email protected]. My email alerts and Twitter have delayed the day since day one. My RSS feed says living poorly is the best revenge.
"Opinion" - Google News
January 07, 2021 at 08:47AM
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Opinion | Trump Takes Revenge on Pence's Big Day - POLITICO
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