We Did This
Alvin Bragg. Joe Biden. The DOJ. Merrick Garland. Jack Smith.
When it comes to the question of who "got" Donald Trump, Republicans love to point fingers. After all, it's in their DNA to play the victim. The same party that has chanted "Lock her up!" for seven years is now all of a sudden irate that their very own messiah might actually be locked up. So they've commenced the blame game because clearly, it cannot be Donald J. Trump's own criminality on trial here. No, it must be something else, some conspiracy from those out to get him. Donald Trump is a victim in all of this and has done nothing wrong. Yet, here we stand in this sixth month in the year of our Lord 2023 and Donald Trump has been indicted on a total of 71 felony counts across two separate investigations with two additional cases likely to include additional charges in the coming months. Adding Fanni Willis' name to those listed above will only give Republicans an additional boogeyman to blame. Oddly enough through all the finger-pointing, Republicans seem to have missed one key person when it comes to who is actually at fault for what is currently happening to Donald J. Trump.
Me.
And you. And you. And you and you and you.
Because what is happening to Donald Trump is the result of all 81.28 million of us who voted for Joe Biden in 2020. It's the result of Biden reclaiming the popular vote in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan while gutting out new wins in Arizona, Georgia, and the 2nd district in Nebraska. It's the result of adding Kamala Harris to the ticket, something strongly supported by Black women and voters of color. It's the result of the post-election work of Marc Elias and his team to ensure that Trump was defeated in 61 out of 62 legal challenges. It's the result of each and every conversation we had with our friends, neighbors, and co-workers. It's the result of every campaign volunteer, both in- and out-of-state who engaged voters up to and, in some cases, after Election Day to make sure that ballots were cast and counted. It's the result of every $5, 10, or $20+ campaign contribution you made to those strong top-of-the-ticket candidates that helped drive voter turnout. And it's the result of realizing that our vote was the only thing keeping us from another four years of Trump-induced mayhem and misery.
We understood the assignment. And because we did, we were graced with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the Oval Office, who actually respect the rule of law. Merrick Garland might not have been a lot of people's first choice as Attorney General but in his selection of Jack Smith he silenced his ever-present doubters on social media who were insistent that he wasn't doing enough to hold Donald Trump accountable. But for those of us who were truly paying attention and not ginning up faux outrage for clickbait, we knew that days like this past Thursday would come. We knew it would come because we believed in Joe Biden. We believed in him, his experience, and his half-century-plus work to do good in this world. We trusted Joe Biden who in turn trusted Merrick Garland who in turn trusted Jack Smith. That trickle-down trust came to fruition this past Thursday and was vindication for a number of us who have steadfastly stood by Steady Joe over these past 30 months.
None of this happens if we don't vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020. Sure, Trump doesn't end up hijacking the classified documents back to Mar-a-Lago but having him in control of the White House and American foreign policy for 4 additional years would have been an unmitigated disaster. There's zero chance we successfully vaccinate 70% of the country. There's zero chance we create 13 million new jobs. There's zero chance we have renewable energies pull ahead of coal for the first time ever. And there's zero percent chance we remain in NATO and lead the charge against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country and the world would have been exponentially more dangerous had Donald Trump been given four more years at the helm.
Our vote prevented that from happening. We have steered the Great American Experiment in Democracy temporarily off the cliff. The threat remains. We are fighting Republican fascism each and every day. But we are no banana republic. We do occasionally hold those in power accountable, even if it is the first time doing so for an ex-president. We are able to have this accountability because we asked, nay, we demanded it with our vote. We were done with 4 years of Trump. We needed a return to normalcy. And we needed Trump to finally be held accountable for his lifetime of crime. All that is only happening because of how we voted in 2020.
Never let anyone tell you that your vote doesn't matter.