A chill down the spine. A shake of the head in almost disbelief. These were – and continue to be – my reactions to the words of support that President Trump has issued on the dictator of arguably the most repressive and anti-democratic nation on Earth, North Korea.
The President has already shown a disturbing propensity to embrace authoritarians, even totalitarians, while he swings a wrecking ball to our alliances with the world’s leading democracies. But this latest turn is one that blows past every caution light and should be ringing full alarms with anyone who cares about our republic. It should be clear to everyone by now that these words and actions show the values and morality of the man occupying the Oval Office. He wishes this nation would just shut up and salute him. He wishes he could weaponize the mechanics of justice to attack his foes and protect himself, his family, and anyone on whom he bestows favor (no matter how that favor is paid for in return). He seeks to silence the press and investigate individual reporters. He tears families away from children and stokes racial animosity.
There is no way to change him. But like a petulant child who constantly is told he can get his way, the fault lies as much with those who are allowing this behavior to happen unchecked.
All the President’s supporters, particularly the leaders in Congress, must be urged to come down on the record about where they stand on all of this. And the rest of the nation needs to remind them and ourselves how un-American this behavior is.
Even as this chill wind howls I remind myself of one of my favorite words – steady. The mechanics of justice continue to turn. Mueller continues to investigate. The states push back. New leaders find their voice. This will be the chorus of democracy that can out-sing the voice of authoritarianism spewing from the White House.
