It’s time to end the Trump era: 2015-2022

The 45th President of the United States of America called for the destruction of the American republic on December 3, 2022. He said the US Constitution should be abolished and the American system of government overthrown.

This is an important moment in America as we careen into the eighth year of the Trump era. It is a moment that demands the repudiation at long last of Donald Trump by the Republican Party, and specifically the elected officials who have run under its banner.

I believe that the Trump era is substantially over, and that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is the overwhelming front runner for the GOP nomination in 2024. Acceptance of this reality will be glacial over the months ahead, and will be ironically similar to the dynamics around Trump’s rise when disbelief faded to acceptance. The Trump Industrial Complex enriched the American media like few phenomena in history. They will not let him loose easily. The scene will be both more wretched and poignant than the iconic loosening of Rose’s grip on her beloved Jack as he slips frozen beneath the waves of the frigid North Atlantic.

There has been an unusual uptick in GOP denunciations of Trump’s insanity lately, but it remains best described as sporadic green shoots poking through the permafrost at the end of the ice age. It is far from decisive, overwhelming and final. Why?

The answer is simple and depressing. They think he might make a comeback. They are hedging their bets. It would be one thing if they connected Trump’s mental decline and ramblings into a conclusion that he is disabled and addled at a level not dissimilar than an agitated homeless person defending his stretch of sidewalk. They could conclude — rightfully — that individual needs help not castigation or rebuke. That isn’t the calculus at play here. Once again, the American people get to see the merging of moral degeneracy and cowardice into political ideology. The stench will reach the moon.

Every American who assumes the responsibilities of public office in the United States of America takes an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America. They promise to defend it against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. It is a sacred oath. Taking it was one of the most meaningful moments in my life. Betraying it to stay in the good graces of Donald Trump is despicable beyond measure and any capacity of mine to articulate in writing. The contempt we should all feel towards the timid men and women who asked for great responsibilities to sate their egos, while promising they wanted to serve America and her people should be incandescent. Truly, there are no words.

We the People deserve better. That starts with demanding better. Isn’t it time to start forging the next chapters of the American story? Isn’t it time to focus on a new frontier again? Isn’t it time to imagine, dream and believe again?  

It is.

That means it’s time to say sayonara to the worst person amongst us. It means treating the cancer within us. It means ending the Trump era for good by jettisoning the rancid orange loser from Queens from American life for all time.

It’s time to move on. Let’s make a show of it. Generally speaking, mass denunciations aren’t healthy in a democratic society. There are exceptions to the rule. This is one. Cowardly Republicans should do well to remember that there is safety in numbers. They have nothing to fear but themselves. When lemmings are massed they are safe from predators, but not the cliff. The cliff is at hand again. It’s long last time to stop and turn around. It’s time to end the Trump era: 2015-2022.