Insurrection Or Farce? by Les May

THE events of the last couple of days in Washington can be taken as a convenient précis of the four years of Trump in the White House. On Wednesday he uses flattery to incite his followers to march to the Capitol building, thousands mill around outside, inside a few windows and doors get smashed, a few offices are ransacked and someone is immortalised by having his photo taken in Nancy Pelosi’s chair. Having eventually been evicted from the Capitol they all went home to tea.

The day after Trump denounces them and tells the world the miscreants will be punished. Elizabeth from Knoxville is amazed that whilst in her words ‘trying to storm the Capitol‘ she finds herself on the wrong end of a police pepper spray. If this was an insurrection it wasn’t very well organised; if a rioter had not been shot and a police officer died of his injuries, it would rank as a farce. As one Twitterer put it, ‘I think my brain just exploded'. She talks about a revolution like it's a tour of Disneyland. "I came to burn the place to the ground and they pushed me! Where are my rights? This is the worst revolution I've ever been to! I wanna talk to the manager!"

Having got his followers marching to the Capitol to prevent the Congress certifying the result of the Electoral College vote, it seems that whether they succeeded or failed, Trump had no idea what to do next. Ditto pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, cosying up to Putin and Kim Jong-un and the Covid 19 pandemic. Nothing about Trump gives the impression that he ever has a plan before he opens his mouth. It’s difficult to discern anything that can be called a political philosophy or a consistent policy that has guided him during the last four years.

Trump’s only loyalty is to himself as those deluded followers who find themselves facing a court will find out

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