Numerous Trump indictments are only recourse to ensure accountability.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
I’ve never wanted The Montage to lean toward one political spectrum or the other, and doing so I think harms the reputation and the objectivity of the paper. Whether you, the reader, are a Republican, a Democrat or have any sort of political affiliation, you should be able to open this paper, read it and enjoy it.
But my own views themselves lean liberal (whether I wish to be labeled as such or not), and the truth of the matter is this: this is my opinions column and I’m thrilled to see Donald Trump be criminally indicted as often as he is. He truly deserves it, and every charge brought against him is quite frankly an open and shut case.
There’s a saying that the wheels of justice often move slowly, and that’s true. It will be years before Trump sees the inside of a cell for longer than a few hours. And make no mistake about it: a prison cell is exactly where he belongs.
Trump is many things. He’s somehow a semi-successful business man. He’s a narcissist. He’s a pathological liar. He’s a bully. He’s a proven criminal. And in what should be the most important thing to the Republicans that idolize him: he’s an insurrectionist traitor, primarily responsible for unleashing a mob on the United States Capitol Building because he’s also a sore loser.
Donald John Trump has a rap sheet that makes Richard Nixon look like a saint by comparison. Whether or not you like him or hate him, the objective facts of the circumstances he finds himself dealing with all show his undeniable involvement. He’s guilty of so much.
That’s not even including his general demeanor and behavior. There were plenty of crass and crude Presidents before Trump. Presidents are leaders, and leaders aren’t always saints. Lyndon B. Johnson, for all he managed to accomplish, could be crude and inappropriate on a regular basis. Don’t get me started on John F. Kennedy and Warren G. Harding, who have more in common than you might think (Google it at your own risk).
Trump suffered from his behavior being more exposed in the media than anyone before him, but that is not and should not be considered an excuse. His behavior, and the effects that it had on society at large, are their own separate issue.
The wheels of justice may move slowly, but they should be moving regardless. Too often, people in power should be held more accountable than they ever truly are. The outrage always fades. It’s why people like Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi have been around since dinosaurs roamed the land. It’s why people like Marjorie Taylor Green (my personal least-favorite live action Scooby-Doo villain) and other crazy people (on both sides of the aisle) will be around for a long time to come. Politics, despite being vital to American life, is so exhausting that it’s easy to ignore. That’s dangerous, especially when people who have no business being in office are keenly aware of it and use it to their advantage.
When Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974, it set a bad precedent that a President may not be held accountable for any crimes they commit on the job. And to be fair, not all of Trump’s crimes occurred while he was in office. But plenty of them did. And this year, in various courts of law in various states, he was held accountable at last. The ongoing narrative is and will continue to be that his endless prosecution is a political witch hunt spear-headed by Joe Biden and the Democratic cabal or whatever. It’s not. He’s a bad man who did so many bad things. Regardless of anything good he managed to accomplish, he needs to be held accountable for the bad things he did. Not even the President should be above the law.
He will likely go down as the most disgraced, least respected person to ever hold that office, unless someone even worse and even more incompetent ever wins election. He deserves that honor in the history books forever.
And this mugshot will be there forever, too. He will never live it down, regardless of if he goes on to win in 2024 or not. Hopefully, he won’t. Grover Cleveland would have some strange company.
Mugshot courtesy of the Fulton County Sherriff’s Office.
