In October of 1973, Spiro Agnew pleaded No Contest to tax evasion and escaped prosecution over many more counts as long as he agreed to probation, a fine, and that he resign from the Vice Presidency. One might think he ‘got away with it’.
On August 8th, 1974, my parents were racing across Arizona, heading towards my dad’s new duty station in San Diego, they pulled into a motel, ran into the lobby, and pleaded with the desk person to just give us a key, we’ll settle up in a few minutes, Nixon’s about to resign. Nixon, of course, had to admit that he knew about the Watergate break-ins soon after they happened, and tried to cover it up. I don’t think anyone knows if a deal got made for his resignation, but on September 8th, 1974, Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. He escaped prosecution and impeachment. One might think he ‘got away with it’.
In both those cases, someone got in Agnew’s and Nixon’s ears and said something to the effect of, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here. If you don’t want to go to prison, I suggest you exit stage right, fucking now. Agnew and Nixon, to their ONLY credit, realized that it was time to go, and did so in order to not put the country into a crisis we hadn’t seen before. Everyone involved was concerned about the effect these events would have had on our country, security, and safety, and everyone involved acted to put the country first when it counted. I tell you all of this to ask a simple question.
Do you believe that someone hasn’t gotten in Trump’s ear and tried to tell him the same thing? Someone has. I feel very sure about this because there are still people that have the interest of the country, our security, and our safety at heart. There are still people that care enough not to plunge the country into a crisis. Someone has surely told Trump if he doesn’t want to go to prison, there’s a way out of this, and herein lies the difference. In Trump, there is no desire to put the country first and avoid a crisis. If you read or listen to him, you might come to the conclusion that he doesn’t think much of this country at all. Nation in Decline! American Carnage! I mean, it’s not exactly Shining City on the Hill, is it?
Here’s the thing: If we’re going to talk dystopia, I can’t think of anything more dystopian than a person who is running for President getting convicted of Federal Crimes, and insisting “Nothing to see here folks, all completely normal.” How does this work, exactly? Where do you put a President convicted of Federal Crimes? Not Leavenworth, that’s for damn sure. Is he gonna be Charles Foster Kane isolated in Xanadu for the rest of his life? Is Rosebud actually the name of his junk? I thought we might have a picnic tomorrow, Melania. And then, what if he actually wins AFTER he’s convicted? I know, I know, OWN THE LIBS. No, we need to stop and think about this. The sitting President of the United States, a convicted felon, serving a sentence for Federal Crimes defines Constitutional Crisis any way you look at it.
Trump wants to be president to try to get out of the nightmare that awaits him. His cult wants him to be President to own the libs. Neither of these are workable situations for the country. Surely you can see this.
The way out is through, I suppose—strap in, kids.