Lately, there have appeared a few lists of the so-called accomplishments of former President Donald Trump. This presents an opportunity to ask a question: Which of Trump’s achievements or promises is the one that allows his supporters to disregard, diminish, or pardon the events of and surrounding January 6, 2021?
That day should have been the deal breaker for everyone. For many, it was. But not everyone. Not nearly. For still others, it was the end of Trump for just a short while until it became politically expedient to forget, ignore, or obfuscate Trump’s crime in the hope of getting re-elected or for fear of admitting that your political party should start operating more like the real GOP and less like a cult.
How could so many become desensitized to that day of violence? Maybe it’s because we’re fed a never-ending diet of information and misinformation. There’s so much “news” that we can choose to hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest.
But if you had access to a television on January 6 and have invested any time at all over the last three-plus years honestly examining the facts leading up to, during, and following that day, how could it not have left a permanent scar? One of the darkest and most shocking days in our nation’s history was promoted and orchestrated by Trump himself. Perhaps worst of all, it was all based entirely on a lie that he keeps on telling. A baseless conglomeration of anecdotal garbage that cost Fox News 787 million dollars and that his own attorney general told him was “bullshit.”
Not so long ago, even the thought that an American president wouldn’t have the maturity, the decency, or the patriotism to accept the results of a free and fair election and would instead incite a riot fueled solely by his own pathetic ego would have been unfathomable. That this actually came to pass should never lose its power to appall and embarrass us. That the person responsible could somehow be re-elected just four years later should be inconceivable. Yet here we are.
So, what great thing has Trump done or promised that allows his supporters to overlook this atrocity? That’s a question for which there is no acceptable answer. He committed a crime neither to be forgotten nor forgiven.
Who knows when or if Trump will ever actually stand trial for this offense or for any other of the myriad counts on which he has been indicted. But in the autumn of 2024, all of that is secondary. The business at hand is the defeat of Donald Trump on November 5. Only then might the stain he has left on the United States of America begin to fade.
Mark Purdy, Managing Editor, has lived in Gettysburg for over 50 years. He worked for 20-plus years for ACNB Bank. He also works with Road Scholar International's Gettysburg programs and has managed the Gettysburg Beer Runners since 2013. Mark has also worked in radio, newspaper, and public relations.
Mr Reck, I’m retired & as such was able to watch the events of Jan 6 in real time. I know what I saw & what I heard. It was a full scale riot/insurrection promoted by Donald Trump. If you’ve got facts that show otherwise, please provide them. Again, I know what I saw.
Unfortunately, this article is totally partisan and it ignores ALL the facts and the video footage and actual words the President stated. He called for patriotic and peaceful demonstrations. He did not call for violence. Any other portrayal is propoganda.
This article is just another typical biased and one sided account of the President and what really happened. This type of publication causes division and is why many people do NOT trust journalists and main stream media. But, in this Country, thankfully, a person maintains the right to free speech.