Psychohistorical Reflections on the January 6th Insurrection, Impeachment, Race, and Our Roundtable Insights

Trump’s second impeachment trial is over but not forgotten. Despite the powerful prosecutorial and visual presentation of evidence of his inspiring an attack on the legislative branch of the government to overturn his defeat, he was acquitted. Even the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who arranged that the trial would be held after his presidency, immediately declared Trump guilty after voting for his acquittal on the technicality that he was no longer president! Fox News commentators are touting how the seven Republicans who voted guilty will be punished for putting their commitment to the Constitution above political self-interest in what primarily remains Trump’s Republican Party.

Democrats twice impeached Trump, the first time strengthening his public polls as various commentators and I had predicted. This time he is not strengthened, but he still controls the Republican Party, which is condemning and pressuring the seven Senators who voted for his second impeachment. Democratic leaders, who can predict better than anyone else how their Senate colleagues will vote, impeached again because of the egregiousness of Trump’s actions. They were shocked by the terrifying events of January 6^th and trying to work through their own emotional reactions. They impeached because their party and much of the country demanded it. They want the record to be clear.

As psychohistorical commentators, despite our many prior fears for the maintenance of our Constitution during the Trump era, we were also shocked and came up with diverse examples. The numerous historical examples coming to our minds include the Catilinarian Conspiracy to overthrow the consuls in Rome (63 BCE), Urban II and the First Crusade (1096-1099), the Salem Witch Trials (1692-1693), Shays’ Rebellion (1786), and Mussolini’s March on Rome (1922), as well as Huey Long (1920s and 30s), Douglas McArthur (early 1950s), and Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution (1966-76). However, none is comparable with an American president in power using a mob to try to nullify an election and then seeking to avoid responsibility. Certainly, this happens in fledgling democracies, but not in America, which has the

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world’s oldest written constitution that has been a democratic model for over two centuries.

Public opinion polls indicated that the majority of the nation favored the trial, but what of moderate Republicans? As opposed to committed “Trumpites,” many inclined to downplay the January 6^th insurrection, erroneously viewing Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations throughout the summer as quite violent, which they seldom were. Conservative media accepts Trump’s denials or
focuses on only a very small portion of the mob (about 800 rioters) who broke into the Capitol to try and do Trump’s bidding to prevent Biden’s official victory from being certified.

My strong impression is that an important part of what is going on in our society is finally giving a clear voice to more than just Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and other symbols of
African Americans’ seeking equality, but to Blacks actually having political power, influence, and much of White society focusing on them. Indeed, we are in a period when it is politically incorrect in liberal society to speak negatively about White guilt. Millions of the same moderate Republicans and independents who voted for Barack Obama feel that they have left racism behind and are now feeling unappreciated and left behind themselves. When they turn on the TV, they see so many non-White faces that many of them are uncomfortable. Much of White America is uncomfortable with what they see. Trump, with his incredible talent for scholasticism, has been able to draw on the incredible ambivalence of many White voters who prefer to not see or concentrate on the danger to our democracy, which was wrought by Trump and about 800 people who broke into the Capitol.

Our biggest challenge is understanding the psychohistorical motivations of the thousands of supporters who marched down from the Eclipse to the Capitol where at least 800 people appeared to have broken in and wreaked havoc. In 2016 former President Trump ran and was elected to “drain the Washington swamp” more than to actually govern. For at least the last 40 years, Republican conservatives have been running against Washington. Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have been using outrage radio and TV to
denounce government rather than improve it. The denial of the need for federal government feeds the anarchistic inclinations of people who hate regulations and paying taxes—these movements are financed by rich special interests. To many on January 6^th, it then made sense to support the attack on the Capitol as a continua-

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tion of this policy. The rioters identified with their grandiose hero, Donald Trump, and his fake news and aggression. They accept his endless lies rather than focusing on the reality of the policies, even prior to the Big Lie of his winning the election despite having 7,059,741 fewer votes than his opponent, who is focused on the actual legislative and governance processes. Regrettably, in the name of respecting the office of the presidency, the country has ignored or laughed at his 2016 lie that he had more votes than Hillary (I’ve been able to trace Donald believing his own lies from his early teenage years). Hitler’s use of the Big Lie has been on my mind ever since January 6^th! In our age of the fantasy of instant gratification and senators like Cruz, Graham, and Hawley seeking media attention and the support of Trump’s base, there’s little concern for the hard work of actual legislative policies. Soundbites and promises suffice! Until there is trust and truth, our democracy is in deep trouble.

What is the future of American democracy? As a result of a demagogic presidency, our society has suffered a serious blow. Violent extremist groups may be emboldened by just how close they came to hanging Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence; individuals among them may be drawn to attempting assassination, which happened after Watergate when there were two close attempts on the life of President Ford. It is disheartening to see our Capitol as an armed, fenced-in fortress, but this may be necessary for a while. The Republican party will likely be reduced in size and influence, whether it remains controlled by Trump and the archconservatives’ or there is an effective struggle for its traditional values, which is preferable. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ current shaky legislative majority will make it difficult for them to fulfill their agenda under Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Pelosi. It will take quite a while to heal America.

As editor, I am most appreciative of my talented colleagues taking the time to give their insights on this greatest challenge to American democracy since the Civil War. Special appreciation goes to Peter Loewenberg for beginning our reflection on this constitutional crisis. His concentration on getting the facts straight before moving to conclusions is a model of historical methodology. As a historian, I would have liked to have done the same, but as the editor and a citizen, I felt I did not have the luxury of the time to do this.

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