Or, why Republicans didn’t storm the Capital, because they believe this election was conducted fairly.
Vice President Kamala Harris is handed a certification as the joint session of Congress convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By Denise Clay-Murray
Four years ago, on Jan. 6, 2021, my husband Chris and I were coming home from putting some of our wedding gifts in storage when we walked into the living room at my mother-in-law’s house to see, well, the United States Capital being overrun.
Thousands of people who believed that Americans couldn’t possibly want something better than another four years of then-President Donald Trump came to the Capital to try and “stop the steal,” as they put it. They literally broke into the Capital Building, threatened members of Congress, and did all they could to try and disrupt the peaceful transition of power that has been the hallmark of American democracy.
Fast forward four years to the 2024 presidential election. We don’t need to get into all of the drama regarding the election itself, but we do have to point out that the person who incited the 2021 Capital riot, the aforementioned Donald Trump, was on the ballot.
And because America is probably the only nation in the world that would rather have a convicted felon who fomented a coup d’etat as its head of state over a competent incumbent or the former prosecutor who was his vice president, Trump won.
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the joint session of Congress that certified Trump’s return to the White House. You’ve got to feel for her, because she knows what America’s about to get hit with and is powerless to stop it.
This wasn’t Trump’s first recent victory in Washington. On Friday, thanks to a little bit of arm-twisting on Trump’s part, Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana was reelected speaker of the House. While he’s currently holding the office, Johnson is still presiding over a House filled with people who will turn on him in a flash if he doesn’t do their bidding, Trump or no Trump.
But back to the Trump certification vote.
The transfer of power went off without a hitch. Trump’s vote was certified. Harris and the Democratic Caucus didn’t cause a scene. No shots were fired. No Capital Police officers were hurt during the process. Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20. Easy peasy.
But the fact that this was the case brings up a lot of things that we all need to keep an eye on moving forward.
Like, for example, what happens four years from now when there’s another presidential election? What’s standing out to me right now is that no one — other than a lot of folks on social media who are still having trouble believing that America would put a convicted felon who fomented a coup d’etat back in the White House — is calling the election unfair.
Republicans — you know, the people who encouraged the coup and will use the contention that the 2020 election was stolen to justify some really bad voter suppression laws — are happily accepting this election.
That’s probably because they won.
What happens if they don’t win in 2028?
That this is a legitimate question should bother everyone, because it’s the kind of question that’s only ever asked in banana republics, and I don’t mean the clothing store. Can we expect another capital riot? Will folks skip all that and go straight to assassinations?
And what about the people currently facing charges for the attempted coup d’etat on Jan. 6, 2021? Is Trump going to make good on his promise to pardon them? Will any of them be held accountable? And if they’re all released, would you want to be a Capital police officer over the next four years? I don’t think I would.
In a couple of weeks, “Trump 2.0…This Time, It’s PERSONAL” begins. The world is going to be watching to see what its bratty little brother with nuclear weapons does under this regime.
But because power has been transferred peacefully, that regime has been cleared to proceed.
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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, the author’s organization, committee or other group or individual.
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