What Have I Learned from the Transition of Trump to Biden?

    The first lesson that I learned pertains to the 25^th Amendment of the Constitution.  The Vice-President of the United States refused to employ the amendment.  Vice-President Pence wrote that using the 25^th Amendment to remove Trump would “set a terrible precedent”. Instead, he argued that it should only be used in instances where the president is incapacitated or has a disability that prevents him from carrying out the duties of the office.  He refused to act even after directed to do so by a vote by the House of Representatives. Essentially the people in their congress asked Pence to do something and he refused to do it or even answer the call.

     Two points here.  What was meant by a “terrible precedent”? We may never know.  Secondly, there is a solid argument for declaring that the president has a disability that prevents him from carrying out the duties of the office. It seems that Pence was assuming that the entire decision was his.  It is not. The 25^th amendment states,

 Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

      At the time of Pence’s statement, there were already several resignations of cabinet members, leaving that element in flux, therefore quite unworkable.   Note there is no time limit on the period of deliberation regarding the question of disability.  Finally, with the extreme divisions between the two political parties, this entire Section 4 process is essentially unworkable.  I can only conclude therefore, that the both the 25^th Amendment and the impeachment process are nothing but blunt instruments, particularly in the presence of a true emergency, particularly a mental health crisis with which I believe we are dealing.  It is also my belief, that Pence would never exercise his 25^th Amendment option no matter what because of fear of political consequences.  It is clear to even the superficial critic that the Congress must address the 25 Amendment and provide for more specific and reliable language.

   The second lesson is that the myth that vote-by-mail is susceptible to widespread fraud was propagated by a “coordinated disinformation campaign” by President Donald Trump and other Republican elites, not by fringe internet actors commonly associated with “fake news”. *  For months prior to the election, Trump insisted that voting by mail was corrupt and illegal.  He repeated this lie so often that a large segment of the population began to believe. In the face of the clear reality that he had lost the election by over seven million votes, he insisted incessantly that he had not only won, but “in a landslide”.  The was not the work of a nickel-dime manipulator, but a symptom of a very mentally ill man who sad to say needs help he will never get.  Never get because no one wants to discuss the truth.

     Watch what the Republicans do now.  At the state level where possible, they will do all in their power to introduce legislation and pass it to block black and brown citizens from voting.

     The third lesson is that the entire spectrum of conspiracy theories particularly the QAnon phenomenon was and is much more widespread and serious derangement of the collective minds of right-wing conservatives and Trumpsters than was imagined.  Millions of Americans have embraced these delusions or believe lies propagated on chat rooms? What do you do with people who believe without question, that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who are plotting against Mr. Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring?  It is the second Trump-supported pandemic. It is much more serious that any Kool-Aid drinking religious fanatics of yesteryear.  This was most evident on the January 6^th assault on the government.  At best, this will take years to repair—this loss of respect for the truth and regard for facts.

     Perhaps we need, as the New York Times [Feb 4^th] ** suggested, a “Reality Czar”, since we are dealing with the nation’s mental health as well as its safety and other social issues as well.  It will require a long and costly common effort.  Control of information feeds into Twitter, Facebook, U-Tube and other platforms will involve ranking the level of truth.  It will be accused of attacking Freedom of Speech, but it is necessary to building our survival as a free educated society. It is what Biden means by uniting the country.

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*[ref; Report by Berkman Klein Center for Internet & society].

** Roose, Kevin.” How the Biden Administration can Help Solve Our Reality Crisis”. New York Times 4 Feb.2021.