What will Trump leave in his wake, and what happens next?
By Sam Bailey ‘23
More than a week after President Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th President of the United States, and we have already seen a fast changing political climate. The country may witness a drastic change in day-to-day activity, the ideological climate, and, with Democratic control of the House, Senate and executive branch, a much bluer government.
However, the recent insurrection of the Capitol building in early January leaves us with the question: What happens next?
On Jan. 6, former President Trump gave a speech calling on his supporters to “save our democracy” and “clean up the corruption in the nation's capital.” Shortly afterwards, the mob of supporters swarmed the capitol building, forcing the entirety of the occupants to be evacuated as the mob forced entry rather easily into the heart of the building.
“We’re gonna walk down to Capitol Hill, and we’re gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not gonna cheer so much for some of them, because you'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong,” said Trump.
This group of supporters has been eager to do what the former President Trump asks of them and to believe what he tells them. They have proven themselves quite loyal to the former president, following his requests on Twitter and other similar social media platforms. This begs the question: will this submissive loyalty to the former president continue after the appointment of the upcoming administration?
“I think there are several possibilities,” said Catlin Gabel School social studies teacher Patrick Walsh. “We know that Trump really craves attention, and if he can’t get it elsewhere, he knows that these people adore him. So he might continue to try to talk to them and to lead them in some way without actually doing anything.”
After being banned on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch and even getting his Reddit community taken down, it has been much harder for Trump to communicate with his followers and stoke the flames. In the past, Trump has seemed eager to spread disinformation, such as Fox News’ coverage of the Portland Black Lives Matter protests, therefore furthering the confusion and fear the rest of the nation feels toward Portland.
Walsh shared another possibility.
“It's also very possible that once he's gone, instead of following him, there will be low-level guerilla warfare against the government, and I think that a lot of these groups (Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer) might just start attacking federal courthouses and arsenals which is similar to Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 90s,” said Walsh. “In some ways, this is the most troubling because they will become similar to the IRA in Ireland, a terrorist organization outside the law and hidden from sight.”
The IRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army) is a militia or army based in Ireland who is a socialist group and has been labeled as terrorists by both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
In a video released on Twitter the day after the insurrection, President Trump stated that, “A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and my focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly transition of power.” This was the first time he had accepted his defeat in the presidential election prior to contrary claims of fraud.
Trump’s supporters have yet to back down from their claims of election fraud, but as of now, no large-scale attacks or threats have been made against the new administration or those supporting it. However, these right wing extremists are not above using violence. Now that Trump is gone, people start to look to politicians like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley who could take his place. We must be wary of the dangers of spreading disinformation.