Steve SchmidtVerified account

Donald Trump. The Republican Party imposes but one demand now. Obedience and Submission to the leader. The Convention was politically ineffective yet still ominous, jarring and repugnant. The convention advanced the audacious absurdity that Trump cares about America and the (3

American people. The message was delivered by a bevy of liars, careerists, propagandists, conspiracy theorists, crackpots, collaborators and self interested family members. The week was defined by its breathtaking mendacity, utter and premeditated lawlessness and the seizure of 4

Some of the most powerful symbols of the American Republic for perverse purposes not the least of which is the underlying autocratic instinct to hijack symbols of national unity and proclaim them as tribal totems marking the authority of the state in the name of the leader. (5)

The clear meaning of the convention for America’s Trumpist minority is startling yet clear. In essence Trump asserted I AM THE TRUTH, I AM THE LAW, I AM THE STATE. He is not and this must be opposed. Trumpism is a fascistic enterprise. It stands apart from and is antithetical (6

to American values. Trumpism will not yield and retreat when faced with passive denial around what it clearly is. Trumpism has long teemed with menace and violence. Trump has encouraged the violence and celebrated it. He has legitimized it in tandem (7)

with his apologists, accomplices and enablers. They have collectively poisoned the country with a toxic media stew of Conspiracy, propaganda, lies, grievance, malice, nationalism and racial animus. A 17 year old was radicalized by Trumpism. He drove to Wisconsin and became a (8

killer. He is celebrated today as sometype of martyr across the the airwaves of extreme media. Who will he inspire next? Trump is fomenting chaos and violence in the name of law and order. A President’s duty is to calm the boiling passions of the moment as they yield to a new 9

Understanding of American justice and inclusion under the idea that in this land We are all created equal and that the promise of the country must be for everybody. Trump is inciting Americans against each other in the name of expanding his power. It isn’t just cynical it is (10

evil. Truly. That is what must be confronted Forcefully and fiercely everyday. Trump has desecrated his office, failed his duty and has attacked the greatest ideas and ideals of the country from within as the President of the United States. He has assaulted the rule of law (11

the Constitution, our instititutions, heroes, values and the foundation of our Union. He has failed history’s test more spectacularly then any American in our history with his blundering, stupidity, malice and incompetence. Covid has consumed American life and wrecked the exonomy

along with millions of American Dreams because Trump failed to protect the country. He has betrayed his oath and humiliated America. We are at the precipice of irreversible decline, weakness and danger. Our democracy is under assault from within. The burden of this moment falls13

Most heavily on Joe Biden. He is the leader of a vast political coalition that harbors wide disagreements but also rock solid conviction around faithfulness to our democratic ideals and the immense sacrifices that were made to preserve and expand them. This is a decisive 14

hour in the American story. The power of our “Better Angels” must be brought into conflict with the noxiousness of Trumpism. The lies, lawlessness, division and malice must be confronted. They must be defeated. What we saw at the convention was something few thought possible 15

In America, yet here we are. Trump will not succeed in taking American Democracy and the Republic away from us. We will have to surrender it to him. If we do , he will not give it back. They never do. Violence and chaos are Trump’s tools. E Pluribus Unum must be the answer 16.