Dear John,
Four years ago today, we watched as then-President Donald Trump rallied and riled up his supporters, inciting them to tell Congress, and his own Vice President Mike Pence, that they would not stand for the 2020 election being stolen from them.
Of course, the 2020 election was not stolen. It wasn’t true then, and it’s not true now.
As Trump’s rally ended, I watched, as so many of us did, thousands of angry MAGA supporters march toward the Capitol. The wave came slowly at first, like a human tsunami. It built on itself until crashing on the steps of the People’s House.
Watching the mob climb toward the doors, and the chaos inside begin to build, a friend of mine from Egypt texted me.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not,” I replied.
He understood. Having lived through Tahrir Square, he said something that has stuck with me to this day: “Once violence is introduced as political speech, it’s very difficult to remove it.”
Four years later, it can feel as if we’ve lived in a weird time-warp. Trump will take office again in just two weeks. Most of the people who helped incite the mob have faced no consequences. Many of those who committed violent acts, including gravely injuring Capitol Police officers, will soon be pardoned.
January 6th, 2021, wasn’t the end of something, but rather the beginning. We saw then, as we’ve seen now, one political party willing to shed its last bits of decency for pure political power. Republican leaders’ instincts and intentions are worse today than they were then.
That is why The Union is getting back to work in 2025. Over the course of the next 12 months, we will build the community, the infrastructure, and the action plan to ensure that we are able to communicate with voters where they live about issues that affect their lives.
We will have much more to share in just a few days, but until then, I hope you’ll make a contribution to our efforts to ensure we have the resources necessary to build the foundation for this next chapter.
Thanks,
Reed
