Impeaching Trump May Be a Win for Extremists
Once the lies and disinformation have been cleared, President Trump will be recognized as the worst president in US history. He undermined the public’s trust in trustworthy sources, attacked every Obama-era environmental advance, and stoked racial tension and division.
But let’s be clear: none of these offenses warrant impeachment. Democrats are rallying for impeachment on grounds of “inciting insurrection.” In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Supreme Court ruled that for speech to be considered criminally inciting, it must have been intended to incite “imminent lawless action” and “likely to incite or produce such action”.
Although Trump has certainly sowed, watered, and reaped the fruits of conspiracy theories, and although he has at times encouraged extremist groups, he did not directly incite violence at the Capitol. He denounced it after it begun, emphasizing his role as the “law and order” president, and told the rioters and protestors to go home.
While there are many reasons Trump is an unfit leader, impeachment requires specific and convincing reasons that are not yet warranted, especially two weeks before leaving office. Of even greater concern is the almost certain result that impeachment will fan the flame of extremism that is already simmering across America.
Trauma & Irrational Action
Tears on social media, outrage from those who are normally silent on political issues, righteously condemnatory speeches from lawmakers on the left and right. These reactions reminded me of another moment of terror, when millions of shocked Americans watched the Twin Towers collapse in flames.
What followed this tragedy was a series of insane foreign policy decisions which led to even greater tragedy: two wholly unjustified wars, the murders of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani citizens, the displacement of an estimated 37 million people in the Middle East, and the financial devastation to the United States economy of 5.6 trillion.
Later, some would justify their support of the Iraq war with some version of “we were suffering from collective PTSD.” And it’s true. Those horrifying attacks on innocent Americans, and in such a symbolic city and place, caused exactly what they intended to cause: terror, with its lingering collective trauma.
We experienced similar emotions during the January 6th capitol siege. Just listen to these lawmakers who experienced the terror firsthand:
“Not since its burning in 1814 has so much damage been done to this building, a building that symbolizes to the world the strength and greatness of our democracy.” —Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.).
Note the symbolic power of the building, the Capitol building as a temple of democracy.
“We were told to look under our seats and to pull out gas masks in case tear gas needs to be used. My life literally flashed before my eyes, and I know that’s true for many of the approximately 200 other members of Congress who were on the House floor at the time.” -Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.)
People praying, calling loved ones, all while trapped in a room and hearing rioters outside the door. Can you imagine the terror of that moment?
This terror is certainly the logical culmination of Trump’s fear-inciting presidency. But we’d do well to remember—citizens and law-makers alike— that fear is the root of irrationality. And irrationality will leads us right into the terrorists’ psychological traps.
How Terrorists and Extremists Win
Terrorism is psychological warfare. Terrorists know that any small, yet symbolically-rich attack can lead to rash retribution and irrational policies; they can distort the psyche of the enemy in such a way as to cause its own demise.
In Osama Bin Laden’s own words, “We are…bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy…All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note…”
I don’t believe that Trump’s extremist allies were so cognizant of their tactics. I think they were driven by blind rage and a false sense of patriotism, unlike the careful calculations of Al Qaeda. But the terror can have the same effect on the democratic body, and the same resulting success for the growing body of American extremists.
Extremism is sticky. It traps the victim in terror in order to manipulate the response. That response — irrational or unjust — will then serve to justify the extremist ideology (U.S. abuses at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib did more for terrorist recruitment than any of their own campaigns)
If we impeach President Trump without iron-clad evidence that he incited violence, then we confirm the beliefs of millions of angry Americans that liberals are unfair elitists on a “witch hunt” to expel their leader. This will only win more disaffected Americans to their side.
The Best Antidote to Extremism
Due to the legitimate trauma of the lawmakers who experienced this attack and the shared trauma of seeing a sacred symbol of democracy being invaded and desecrated, we are tempted towards retribution by pushing impeachment, even on shaky grounds. But is this the way to win a psychological war?
Most experts agree that combatting extremism with education can be effective. In the case of American extremism, we must spend more resources on combating misinformation, on mental health, and (as I have long argued) we must mandate critical thinking and logic classes for every student, middle school through high school. We are not yet evolved enough to navigate the information age. And we are not emotionally stable enough to resist the pull of belonging to ideologies.
But education alone won’t win this war. Extremism is fueled by the hypocrisy of the dominant power. To save our democracy, we must maintain its moral integrity, even in the face of evil. We must subject insurrectionists to the full discipline of the law, but not stretch definitions when we want examples to be made (our “examples” are the extremists’ “martyrs”).
Let me be clear: this insurrection should be a wake-up call for anyone who thought nationalist, racist, conspiracy theory-fueled Trumpism was a small threat or no threat at all. Immediate and decisive action is required. But we must act intelligently, fully aware of the psychological nature of this dangerous moment. Our instincts for retribution may recoil, but evil is best fought by not allowing ourselves to be swept in its tide. Democracy will prevail as long as we defend our democratic values, and those include fairness and impartiality.
