Trump’s inaugural speech bloviated that he’ll restore America’s greatness. Then he did something throwing it in the toilet.
Pardoning 1500 criminals imprisoned in literally the biggest law enforcement effort in U.S. history. Most having pled guilty, or been convicted by juries, for violent offenses. Against law officers themselves — to overthrow our democracy no less.
Trump himself, on that night of January 6, 2021, called those rioters lawbreakers deserving punishment. Now labels them victims and heroes!
He said this week — grotesque nonsense — that other countries “empty their jails” to “send” us criminals. While that’s exactly what he himself has done, releasing these violent perps. Empowering and emboldening extremists to redouble their assault on our institutions.
So much for Republican bleats of “law and order.” Ranting about crime. Posturing as backing police. As the Times-Union’s 1/22 editorial put it, Trump’s January 6 pardons “spit in the faces of the police officers” violently attacked that infamous day. Those pardons, and Republican acquiescence or even endorsement, make them the party of crime.*
Worse yet, this is all part of Trump’s giant lie that the 2020 election was stolen. He pushed it, with zero evidence, only because his depraved psyche couldn’t face losing. Any fool could see that. His lie was totally debunked (even by his own rump-kissing Attorney General Barr). In fact, it was Trump himself trying to steal that election, even manufacturing fake electors. His lies (regurgitated in his inaugural speech) instigated the January 6 violence. Ever since, compounding the travesty, he’s striven to whitewash it, telling us we didn’t see what we all saw that day.
President Biden’s pardons of relatives and other potential Trump targets was not a good look. Enabling “whataboutism” by Republicans seeking cover for their complicity in Trump’s disgusting actions. But there’s no comparison. None of those pardoned by Biden on January 20 had done anything wrong. The purpose was to forestall wrongs to them.
And Biden’s graciousness toward Trump that day was an edifying contrast to the latter’s ghastly conduct four years previous. However, Biden seemingly forgave all that and went too far by telling Trump, “Welcome home.” Adding to the ick of his inaugural love-fest/deification.
The MAGA movement is a supposed revolt by proletarians against “elites” felt to be doing them dirty. Those deluded saps can’t see they make themselves pawns of a more insidious broligarchy. On full display at the inauguration, with a phalanx of tech billionaires bowing to a leader who’ll help them squeeze even more for themselves. Power and money.
The absurd idea of Trump having the backs of ordinary schlubs is the linchpin in a cult of deranged fantasy. Those credulous fools also worship the God of a Bible depicting him perpetrating vicious atrocities. A perfect doorway to the moral black hole of Trumpery.
This is what Americans insanely voted for — pardons and all. Trump’s puffery about restoring national greatness is rendered a sick joke by the very fact of our handing the government back to the man who tried to overthrow it. Our founders are spinning in their graves at this desecration of what once did make America great. Trump’s babbling that it was crappy before defies reality. It’s him now making this (to use his word) a shithole country.
* Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of the giant “Silk Road” dark web vehicle selling illicit drugs, who’d gotten a life sentence. This appalling pardon panders to crypto bros, but further betrays everything Republicans say they stand for.
