The President’s Threats

We are entering new territory. The threats from the president on his twitter feed are getting deeper and downright bizarre. He is talking in apocalyptic terms. He is threatening members of Congress, and speaking in terms of treason. The idea that the country will go to civil war if he is impeached is there. So is the concept that this is a coup, and not the constitutional means to remove a rogue president from office. Incidentally, the threats to the whistleblower mean that he is now under federal protection. Younger broadcasters admitted on air that they are shocked and surprised. Why? It reveals how we forget our recent history, let alone the distant one. Our media personalities are part of this trend, which I hope we finally break.

The United States is a forward-looking nation, which is a weakness. This is why people are surprised, even shocked. The lessons of Watergate were forgotten already. And yes, there are parallels to both Watergate and the Andrew Johnson impeachment after the Civil War. However, we seem to have forgotten 2016. Roger Stone threatened violence if Trump did not get the nomination at Cleveland. Cleveland was not long ago. In fact, it was within the lifetime of these hosts. They were working for the same broadcaster, even. Some of us even remember the violence both inside and outside the rallies.

There are essential questions that need asking. They speak to the nature of the moment. Why is the president speaking in such dire terms? Why did Richard Nixon do the same in the tapes from the White House? Why did Andrew…