For more than two years into Donald Trump’s first and only term, American journalists and their commentariat were slow to recognise the terrifying implications of what was then called the former president’s “shredding” of “norms”. With news laden with euphemisms for the president’s lies, and official reports describing his daily assaults on democracy as “potential risks”, it was as if the entire country couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Namely, that there was a tyrant in the White House, and they might not be able to get him out.
At yesterday’s seventh hearing of the January 6 Committee, no such blindness was evident. Led by chairman Bennie Thompson, the committee set forth the evidence for the sixth prong of Trump’s assault on fair elections, the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power.
Coups can be bloodless. Indeed, all five of Trump’s prior attempts to retain power against the expressed will of the people could be described this way. But after Trump failed to derail the peaceful transfer of power by pressing on the courts, by pressuring state legislators and election officials to change the results, by submitting fake slates of electors, by leaning on the Department of Justice, and by pressuring his vice president to refuse to count electoral votes, all that remained was the muscle and a clown car of external advisers like Sidney Powell fantasising about the military seizing voting machines. When the latter was put to bed by White House staff, Trump’s final effort to retain power by force was underway.
According to Jason Van Tatenhove, the Oath Keepers played a key role in violently assaulting police, crashing through crowd-control barriers, and smashing windows to invade the Capitol on January 6. He should know. He was a spokesman for a group he described as “dangerous” and “violent militia”, comprising the “alt right, white nationalists, and even straight up racists”. Their vision of the United States matched what we saw on January 6, according to Van Tatenhove. “It doesn’t necessarily include the rule of law … it includes violence. It includes trying to get their way through lies, through deceit, through intimidation, and through the perpetration of violence.”
If Van Tatenhouse was the penitent, the other man giving evidence before the committee, Stephen Ayres, was the chump. Ayres, who was a cabinet maker of 20 years, lost his job and his home after being charged with following paramilitary forces into the Capitol. Indeed, following was what Ayres did best, including coming to the Capitol because Trump’s social media posts told him to “be there” and leaving after Trump’s belated 4.17pm tweet of “come out”, telling him to go home. “I was hanging on every word he was saying,” Ayres told the committee.
So, what was the point of such personal and detailed testimony detailing facts that those paying attention have known for weeks, if not months? The strongest clue comes from Republican vice-chair of the committee Liz Cheney’s opening statement.
“Millions of Americans … did not have access to the truth [about election fraud] like Donald Trump did. They put their faith and their trust in Donald Trump. They wanted to believe in him. They wanted to fight for their country, and he deceived them. For millions of Americans that may be painful to accept, but it is true.”
It’s the national reconciliation piece again, this time with direct outreach from and to white, working-class men. “I got away from all the social media … consider myself a family man and I love my country. I don’t think any one man is bigger than one of those things,” Ayres told the committee, before confessing “I felt like I had horse blinders on”.
Will it work? Who knows, though I note that the gender-diverse, multi-ethnic array of Capitol police stationed behind the witness table looked like a sceptical Greek chorus. Indeed, many of their brethren remained so when, after the hearing closed, Ayres went through the room offering a personal apology to law enforcement officers — or to the spouses of those who were wounded or killed during the insurgency.
Perhaps this is why this hearing, for me anyway, failed to pack as much of a punch as earlier ones. It wasn’t designed for me.
It is a sad indictment of the US society that Trump could have unified so many around his big lie. A lesson for Australia in ensuring systems that allow us to retain trust in our institutions (independent integrity commissions etc.) and understanding that income distribution has a huge impact on a nation’s psyche. The US is falling apart through anger and resentment between Americans- and this is being used by the likes of Trump….oh and a shout out to Rupert Murdoch, the devil incarnate. It’s sad—— and it impacts us!!!
Does anyone doubt that this could have happened without Moloch’s FAUX FUX channel?
Are we any better off here with his ‘only’ controlling the tabloid media?
What is the common factor in the last several years of misrule in the UK, US & here?
The repetition here was due to the mod being on the swooning couch for a day or so, unable to cope with the evil letters deviously hidden within the word between “his ‘only’…. the tabloid media“.
Does anyone doubt that this could have happened without Moloch’s FAUX FUX channel?
Are we any better off here with his ‘only’ owning the tabloid print media?
What is the common factor in the last several years of misrule in the UK, US & here?
Thank you Leslie, your paragraph about bloodless coups is the most succinct summation of the Trump sedition I have read.
It beggars belief that he might escape going to jail for treason.
I hate to say it. No I don’t. Americans are dumb. Just plain dumb or as they might like to say plumb dumb. They glorify their stupidity. It is an endearing feature in a person and even a country or part thereof but in politics it is frightening.
Dumber than anti vax Australians? Or the ones who led a jihad against Lindy Chamberlain? And more anti-intellectual than no-tall-poppies Australia? Don’t kid yourself. Every population has credulous sheep. That’s why the quality of leadership is so important.
Not sure why you had to go back to Lindy Chamberlain when talking about lynch mobs (jihad? Really). I’d say that in far more recent times the likes of Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and Scott McIntyre are perfect examples of the victims of that nasty sort of Australian stupidity.
During the recent Jubilee YAM endeared herself with her, current, hosts by saying the ubiquity of UK flags made her sick.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/06/uk-public-rejects-yassmin-after-nasty-remarks-about-flag/
Yes but we exonerated Lidndy Chamberlain and even compensated her. The ones who lead a campaign against here were the tabloid dailies and 2nd rate journos and shock jocks. If she had been in America in a mid-west state she may have been executed. In any case Leslie the NT is the closest our country has to a mixture of some of your states – Arkansas, Arizona. Oklahoma, Texas. Questionable law enforcement. The no tall poppies is your interpretation and generalisation. This has never been the case. True we have a streak of anti-intellectualism, but we don’t enshrine or respect that as a rule. Many Americans can’t interpret a map of the world and wouldn’t know the heel where Australia is and many would support an invasion of us if it were called. You live here. Why the hell don’t you respect us?
I’d point towards a failed education system rather than general dumbness. What we percieve as dumbness is the symptom. Americans are generally grossly ignorant as a result of their environment, but not necessarily dumb.
Millions of Americans put their faith in Fox, Infowars and One America. All manipulate, frequently lie, and are utterly partisan in their politics. Russia itself could not do a better service to propaganda. Someone needs to do a story on how the notion of Freedom of the Press is allowing some parts of the media to destroy any concept of a ‘United’ States.
…and it looks like Keane is about to do exactly that. Should’ve checked the next story before hitting Post.
Pretty good rendition Dr Leslie even if you weren’t into it. The bit about Ayres doing personal apologies showed some humanity and failed humanity. Prof Altemeyer saw this coming. And pretty much no one else. Maybe Stanley Milgram.