Let’s set aside for a moment that the person who was the outgoing President, at the time of the January 6, 2021 riot and attack on Congress, incited the event, as he continues to deny.
What he didn’t do during the attack is even more damning.
What we now know is that, when told by an aide that the mob was threatening to hang Vice-President Pence and that Pence had to be moved to a secure location, the outgoing President said,
So what – that Vice-President Pence was doing his job and his patriotic duty. So what – that a mob of the President’s own supporters were actively invading Congress, where Pence was fulfilling his responsibility as head of the Senate, and yelling,
“Hang Pence.”
His own Vice-President.
So what – that people were breaking windows to crawl into the congressional building, storming the steps, and American citizens and police officers were dying.
So what – that they later said they were doing that in response to a tweet by the outgoing President that said,
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”
So what – that both Republican and Democrat Senators were calling and texting while hiding, asking the outgoing President and government agencies for help as they were under attack. Help which the outgoing President didn’t dispatch.
So what – that the United States of America had nearly 220 years of the peaceful transfer of power leading up to January 6, 2020.
So what, – that in September 2020, after the sitting President at the time said he would NOT transfer power if he lost, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution committing to a peaceful transition of power and opposing any attempt “by the President or any person in power to overturn the will of the people of the United States.”
So what – that the transfer of power would happen no matter what he personally wanted, peacefully or not, absent the Vice-President or not — because the United States is a Democracy. Unlike most of the 68 countries that have never had a peaceful transfer of power, including Russia and China.
Do we, as a nation, really want a President who says, “So what” to mob violence? Who says “So what” to those verbally and physically threatening the lives of lawmakers? Who says “So what” to the Democratic process so many have fought for and sworn to protect? Who says “So what” to the transfer of power, peaceful or not? Who says “So what” to setting the precedence of a violent transfer of power?
Apparently, some Americans do want that. Or have been convinced they do.
Apparently to them, “So what” is an adequate and acceptable response to crisis and violence and the disruption of the Democratic process. And to them, I ask,
What next?
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Previously Published on Medium
Bill Bryan on Flickr under CC License
