Removing Trump

Accountability and isolating the president constitute the only basis for rebuilding.

American democracy is still standing. The Capitol has been cleared of the pseudo-fascist horde that stormed it, spurred on by Donald Trump. And the legitimate representatives of national sovereignty were able to finish certifying the election of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Before that happened, dozens of judges withstood pressure from the White House to subvert those results. Admirably, so did Brad Raffensperger, a Republican election official from Georgia, who, without bending one millimeter, resisted the leader’s bullying attempt to force him to find the 11,000 votes he needed by any means necessary. Many others lived up to what was expected of them. The seams of the system born in 1787 have therefore withstood the brutal onslaught of Trumpism. However, there must be no complacency. The harm done is huge, and it will endure. Rebuilding will be arduous. It is in the interest of the world at large, and of the West in particular, that this is brought to a successful conclusion in order to steady the course of the world’s greatest power.

There are two tasks ahead: knowing what to do with Trump himself, and knowing what to do with Trumpism and the fracture cutting through American society. For the first, it seems obvious that Trump’s actions, which had the makings of a self-styled coup, cannot evade scrutiny. Restoring the reputation of American democracy must indeed begin with an earnest attempt to clarify and determine accountability for what happened, starting with the president. There are two short-term courses of action: either resorting to the 25th Amendment of the Constitution and declaring Trump unfit for office before the transfer of power scheduled on Jan. 20, or an expedited impeachment. This last option, apart from having symbolic value, would have the benefit of preventing the leader from running in a presidential election again. On another front, after Jan. 20, the dilemma arises over whether to launch a criminal investigation into someone who will become a former president, with the obvious burden such a step would entail. All of these options are dramatic and carry the risk of being even more polarizing. Regardless, American democracy should not shy away from it. What happened is outrageous, and activating one of these channels has become necessary. Concurrently, albeit belatedly, major social media networks have started to firmly silence the shameful and grotesque messaging that was broadcast daily on their platforms by the man in the White House. This restriction must continue, and debates concerning the role of social networks in the spreading of hate speech must delve deeper.

If anything, the second task is more complex. Controlling both Houses of Congress will facilitate Biden’s work a great deal. It will be possible to effectively pass legislation. But this alone will not be the balm needed the United States needs to heal its existential wound. About 74 million citizens voted for Trump. Only a minority of them are extremists, but a very comprehensive part of them have absorbed the notion, promoted by the president and a good portion of the Republican leadership, that the election was fraudulent. Distrust, or even resentment, will linger below the surface. Biden will need to extend a hand. However, it is equally if not more important that the Republican Party, after having become a club of submissive Trump sycophants during the last four years, severs ties, ostracizes him and assumes a constructive attitude in Congress. The populist poison must be contained, and that largely depends on the actions and rhetoric of the Republicans, who have finally shown some strong signs of distancing themselves from the real estate magnate.

The damage has been enormous. This shameful spectacle is undermining the reputation of the most powerful democracy in the world. The strength of American democracy has always been in setting an example and in the results it has achieved. That was what attracted so many countries to its model and so many people to its land. It is in the general interest that the U.S. regains its calm social cohesiveness to ensure not only the stability of its democracy, but to make sure its global influence remains on the path of moderation and the rule of law.