The president’s historian calls Trump’s presidency a “near-death expertise” for American democracy

President’s historian Michael Beschloss said Tuesday night, although Joe Biden is sworn in as president tomorrow, the American people should not forget the “near-death experience” that Donald Trump has just brought to the country.

Decision said Biden rightly focused his inauguration on “unity and reconciliation,” but that it is also important to remember how close Trump has come to overthrowing US democracy.

“We attacked our democracy every day and hour for four years, a president who hates democracy, has a lust for power and on January 6th rounded it all off by trying to overthrow our Congress and overthrow a free presidential election and overthrow our democracy “Said decided.

“It was a near-death experience,” he added.

Video:

“We attacked our democracy every day and hour for four years, a president who hates democracy,” @BeschlossDC reflects on the Trump presidency. pic.twitter.com/4uoqHUyQEG

– PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 20, 2021

Decided said:

I think it will make more sense because it takes the moment into account. If we were trying to mimic a normal inauguration with a large crowd and pretending there was no pandemic, or if we wanted to be safe and take the risk of pretending there were no domestic terrorist attacks on the Capitol on the 6th and the January Congress, that would be fake. So if we are to have a ceremony of oneness and reconciliation that I am sure will take place tomorrow, you have to have one that is a little in tune with the moment. We Americans, just like our friend Valerie just said, attacked our democracy every hour for four years, a president who hates democracy, has a lust for power and on January 6th rounded it all off by trying to overthrow our Congress, a free presidential election to overthrow and overthrow our democracy. It was a near death experience. We can’t just pretend this is just a day like any other.

“To heal we must remember”

On Tuesday evening in Washington DC, Joe Biden told the country that remembering is part of the healing process.

“Sometimes it’s hard to remember, but that’s how we heal,” he said. “It’s important to do that as a nation.”

Biden spoke in the context of the pandemic, but his words also apply more generally to the past four years.

In order for the country to heal after four traumatic years from Donald Trump, it is important that we realize how close American democracy is to collapse.

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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as the Outreach Organizer of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, helping Northeast Ohio residents get health insurance.