Is anyone really surprised? Is anyone surprised that President Trump’s rabid cult members stormed the Capitol to prevent Congress from accepting the results of the electoral college? Trump has been firing up his supporters ever since the November election, falsely claiming that it was fixed. Shortly before that invasion, Trump told them, “We’re going to have to fight harder; we’re gonna walk down to the Capitol, and I’ll be with you.” (He wasn’t, of course).

The President’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., added fuel to the fire, ”If you’re going to be the zero, not the hero, then we’re coming for you.”

Rudy Guiliani, the President’s unscrupulous lawyer and slimy cheerleader, injected his own venom, “Let’s have trial by combat.”

Jan. 6, 2021 brought back memories of Sept. 11, 2001, but this time the violence was incited by our own “President” and his enablers, not by foreign adversaries.

I, for one, am not surprised. For the last five years I’ve been sounding the alarm about Donald Trump, a poor excuse for a human being with no character, no ethics, no morals, no redeeming virtues. Trump got elected President in 2016 (by the electoral college, not the popular vote), despite overwhelming evidence that he was nothing more than a boorish bully, an inveterate liar, a lifelong con man. Consider the evidence: the fake Trump University; the fake Trump Foundation; a long record of stiffing contractors and municipalities; the many bankruptcies; the refusal of American banks to give him any more loans; the paying off of a porn star; a history of disrespectful behavior toward women; and on and on.

This is a man who launched his candidacy by referring to Mexicans as rapists; who constantly bullied his political opponents, first during the Republican primaries and later during his presidential campaign. This is a man who trashed John McCain, an American hero, because he wouldn’t do his bidding. This is a man who bashed the press and trashed the judicial system. This is a man who claimed to be the “law and order” President and then sought to overturn an election by using unlawful means – such as calling Georgia’s Secretary of State to try to bully him into changing the legal vote. This is a man who coddled foreign dictators while dissing our allies. He did nothing to punish Saudi Arabia, for example, after that country had an American journalist murdered. Moreover, he did nothing to punish Putin and Russia for hacking America’s computer systems. This is a man who lied to the American people thousands of times over the last four years, beginning on day one.

Anyone who still supports Trump owns a piece of this assault on American democracy. What think you now, white Christian evangelicals who overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020? Was your desire to install anti-abortion judges worth putting an unChristian, racist con man into the nation’s highest office? And how about all the “loyal” Republicans who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat in 2016 and again 2020, even though many of them privately admit that Trump is a horrible man? Is being true to your party more important than being true to your country? Finally, and most important of all, how do Trump supporters rate the President’s disastrous response to COVID 19? (Hint: the virus was not a “hoax.”)

“But,” some Trump supporters claim, “Trump has done what he promised he would do.” Oh, really? Where’s the “beautiful” new health care plan? Did Mexico pay for the wall? Has Trump drained the swamp or merely filled it with criminals and grifters? He promised he wouldn’t have time to play golf, but then spent hundreds of hours and millions of taxpayer dollars breaking that promise. Has Trump improved America’s standing in the world? (Read the commentaries of foreign leaders.) Did he bring back the coal industry? Trump said he’d balance the budget and then proceeded to rack up record deficits, thanks in large part to tax cuts for corporations and for the wealthiest Americans.

I’m convinced that much of Trump’s appeal stems from underlying racism, whether his supporters will admit it or not. The phrase “Make America Great Again” was interpreted (rightly) by most minorities and many observers as “Make America White Again.” Trump has Stephen Miller, a white nationalist, in his administration. He awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to radio shock jock Rush Limbaugh, a ranting racist. It is no accident that many of the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol were carrying Confederate flags. What if those domestic terrorists had been African-Americans? Would they have been treated cordially by Capitol security? In a tweet after the insurrection in the Capitol, incidentally, Trump noted his “love” for the terrorists. Many people who support Trump will argue that they’re not racist. I would argue that they’re willing to support a racist President.

The evidence is clear. Trump was and is a disaster as President. Hopefully, we can move ahead with better judgment so we don’t elect another con man (or con woman ) or wannabe dictator in the future. Just because Trump says something — like the election was rigged, for example — doesn’t make it so. In fact, if one believes anything Trump says at this point, one might do well to consult a physician or a psychiatrist or, at the very least, take their meds and go sit in the corner for a time out.

Strong words, these, but as Trump leaves office, he deserves the full condemnation of every citizen from any political party who truly cares about America and the principles upon which it stands.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.

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