Deeper malaise

While it was historic to impeach Trump for the second time, it would be foolhardy to believe that pushing Trump out of the system will also erase trumpism (“Trump impeached after Capitol riot in historic second charge,” Jan. 14, Gulf Today).

There is enough documentary proof that the president incited his supporters and of the ensuing violence unleashed by the mob at Capitol on the day President-elect Joe Biden’s victory was to be officially confirmed by the Congress. There is ample proof that the pro-Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol, egged on by the president’s calls for them to “fight like hell” against the election results, which he says are rigged.

And there is also ample proof of the sinister role of the enforcement agencies on the day of the attack. There are images of some policemen posing for selfies with those who stormed the Capitol. It is easy to see how this plays alongside the way the police dealt with protestors during the Black Lives Matter rallies.

So, to lay all the blame on Trump’s shoulders is missing out on the big picture. And that is — America is trapped in a quagmire which is far from democratic. The Capitol siege highlights a deeper malaise, that of divisiveness embedded in American society and politics, which Trump craftily used to his advantage. The actions of the White supremacists at Capitol Hill said it all.

Biden, who inherits the pandemic, an ailing economy amid many other woes, faces an uphill task. I am confident though that he and his team will rise to the occasion.

Desiree R — By email