Caroline’s Comics: Watching American democracy burn
This week’s installment of Caroline’s Comics looks at how the end of the Trump presidency also marks the start of a new era in American politics.
January 13, 2021
One week ago, thousands of President Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol trying to stop the 117th Congress from certifying President-Elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory. Although their plans ultimately did not come to fruition, these violent riots signify an even larger issue: American democracy is crumbling, and politics will never be the same in a post-Trump world. The GOP has done nothing to address Trump’s coup attempt, and Vice President Pence has refused to invoke the 25th Amendment in the final days before Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20. Previous presidents’ impeachable offenses pale to Trump’s inciting a violent insurrection, but Republicans in polarized Washington choose to ignore this. Since his election in 2016, bigotry is rampant, hatred has mobilized and human rights and science are now a matter of politics. Even with his Twitter privileges revoked, Trump will likely find other channels to spread the disinformation that plagued the last four years. The American flag is no longer a symbol of freedom and justice; it is of overzealous nationalism and overt attempts to overthrow democracy.
