A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 203rd Unpresidented Week As POTUS

126 Republicans publicly backed Donald Trump's seditious effort to overturn his election loss. This is something we should never forget.
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by: Ahmed Baba on December 13, 2020

President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – February 4, 2020. (Source: Kevin McCarthy)

President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – February 4, 2020. (Source: Kevin McCarthy)

Trump’s first major typo after winning the election was spelling Unprecedented incorrectly. He infamously tweeted “Unpresidented.” This typo is emblematic of his administration: An impulsive, frantically thrown together group of characters with virtually no oversight. After Trump was sworn in, I started writing the weekly “Unpresidented” column, analyzing every week of his presidency. This is week 203.

This week, the Supreme Court refused to hear two efforts to overturn the election. First, the case attempting to overturn the Pennsylvania results was tossed aside. Then, on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected the Texas case that Donald Trump was placing all his hopes in. But I’m not going to talk about the cases themselves. Instead, I’m going to discuss the absolute capitulation and shameless authoritarianism of the Republican Party that backed them.

The case brought by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is under federal investigation and is likely seeking a pardon, was joined by 17 other Republican Attorneys General. The case was a baseless, seditious effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in four battleground states. In spite of its undemocratic dubiousness, 126 House Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), backed the lawsuit.

Far from the brave “I am Spartacus” showcase of loyalty they thought it was, these 126 Republican lawmakers essentially stood up and proclaimed, “I am seditious.“ While undemocratic tactics, like voter suppression, are nothing new to the GOP, this was still a historically disgraceful moment in American history. What makes this worse is the fact that this disinformation is actually working on their base.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Maris poll found that 72% of Republicans do not believe the election results were accurate. Other polls indicate a majority of Republicans think the election was stolen. This happens every time. At first, the majority doesn’t have a stance and once Trump takes that stance, they all fall in line. At this point, if Trump started repeatedly claiming gravity is fake, GOP polling would shift.

To be a Republican right now is to put one man above your country. It’s to be in total opposition to democracy itself, and specifically, one that allows Black people equal voting rights. What we’re seeing is an embrace of fascism. We can never let anyone whitewash this era.

This was not just another Republican President. This was not just a moment where “both sides” were polarized. This was not just another instance of lawmakers and voters being loyal to their party. This is a moment where one side of the country, gaslit into a false reality by one man and his propagandists, turned against what America is supposed to stand for.

We can’t sugarcoat this. We can’t beat around it. We need to call this era what it is and hold the people who enabled it accountable. These were people who shamelessly and disgustingly abused their power and influence with complete disregard for the consequences of their actions.

We can be gracious to those voters and Americans who later admit they were misled, but we have to be merciless to the “leaders” who engineered this. They need to be held accountable at the ballot box and through whatever legal means apply to their given corruption so this never happens again. Anti-corruption laws and other democratic norms need to be codified into law. Until then, we have shorter-term battles to fight.

Even after the electoral college is set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win, Republican lawmakers are planning flimsy challenges ahead of the January 6 congressional confirmation of the election. I’m less worried about that actually working as I am about the effect this will have on their base. The longer this lie carries on, the more people will be radicalized. After the latest Supreme Court defeat, there was dangerous rhetoric on Twitter and Parler calling for war. Proud Boys took to the streets of Washington DC, sparking violence. The FBI needs to be on the lookout for radical right terrorist attacks.

Trump supporters call liberals sheep for believing in objective reality but rely on a disinformation-crafted false reality for their conspiracy theories while actively supporting one of the greatest anti-democracy conspiracies in modern history occurring right in front of them.

I’ve always understood bad people exist, but the only parallels I had for millions of people rejecting reality and embracing a depraved leader was in history or comics books. I’m only 27 and hadn’t witnessed anything like this in America. Then came President Trump. I have never witnessed someone so devoid of a conscience. Trump has no line he won’t cross.

Even now, as America has hit over 3,000 COVID-19 deaths daily, Trump’s callousness continues. Instead of convening a meeting and presser with health officials to assure Americans we’ll get through this, Trump met with the GOP AGs backing his attempt to overturn the election.

As I reflect on the past four years, I wonder what Trump would have done if our laws, media, institutions, and ultimately the voters didn’t stop him? What would he have done next if we didn’t stop him at child separation? What other cruelty would he have unleashed? Would he have actually crowned himself an unelected dictator if enough Republican officials backed his coup attempt? I’m glad we’ll never find out.

Let’s dive into yet another Unpresidented week.

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Georgia Confirms Biden Win, Again. Trump Attacks Kemp.

Day 1,418: Monday, December 7

Donald Trump (AP) and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Official Photo)

Donald Trump (AP) and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Official Photo)

Monday’s top stories:

Biden Introduces Health Team, Including Dr. Fauci

Day 1,419: Tuesday, December 8

(C-SPAN)

(C-SPAN)

Tuesday’s top stories:

COVID Kills More In One Day Than 9/11

Day 1,420: Wednesday, December 9

Army Spc. Daniel Fields, assigned to the 9th Hospital Center, takes a patient’s blood pressure reading in the Javits New York Medical Station (JNYMS) – March 30, 2020 (US Navy/Barry Riley/Public domain)

Army Spc. Daniel Fields, assigned to the 9th Hospital Center, takes a patient’s blood pressure reading in the Javits New York Medical Station (JNYMS) – March 30, 2020 (US Navy/Barry Riley/Public domain)

Wednesday’s top stories:

Over 100 Republicans Sign Onto Texas Effort To Overturn Election

Day 1,421: Thursday, December 10

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, before the start of a meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, before the start of a meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Thursday’s top stories:

Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Coup

Day 1,422: Friday, December 11

The U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington. Jan. 25, 2012 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington. Jan. 25, 2012 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Friday’s top stories:

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Unpresidented // 2020 / Authoritarianism / Donald Trump / Elections / Electoral College / Republican Party
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by: Ahmed Baba

Ahmed Baba is the Co-Founder and President of Rantt. Writer of Unpresidented, Ahmed documented and analyzed every day of the Trump presidency. He's also a columnist at The Independent and his work has been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, The New York Post, The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Blavity, Newsweek, The Telegraph, and more. He can be reached at [email protected] or found on Twitter @AhmedBaba_.

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