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Cabinet Resignations are Cowards
Jan. 8th, 2021 01:15 pmSince the mob attack on the US Capitol Wednesday a handful of cabinet and White House staff members have submitted their resignations in protest of President Donald Trump, who not only incited the act of insurrection and domestic terrorism but also praised the mob in statements released to major media afterwards. The highest profile officials to resign have been Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who's also the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. More names can be found in recent coverage such as this article from The New York Times and this article from WGN TV in Chicago, both published 8 Jan 2021. While resigning from a hopeless corrupt and lawless administration might seem like the noble thing to do, these resignations are the cowards' way out.
Why is it a coward's way out? First, none of what happened this week is a surprise. Trump set the false expectation of election tampering starting months before the election, and since the election on November 6 he has taken to social media and friendly TV news every single day to spread false, zero-evidence claims of election fraud. He has encouraged his supporters to "defend" the US against this vast but unspecified conspiracy that is "stealing" the election from voters. There can be no surprise that it came to violence. Anyone who wanted to protest the damage Trump was wreaking should've acted weeks ago. By staying this long they are actively complicit.
Second, resigning now absolves these officials of responsibility for acting to limit further damage. There are numerous, serious calls for Vice President Pence and cabinet members to exercise a provision in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution that allow for an unfit president to be removed from power. Cabinet members resigning now are dodging their responsibility to make a clear, yes-no decision on this important matter. In fact, each resignation is further complicity in enabling Trump's continued coup against the US government as it makes it that much harder to reach the threshold required to force Trump's removal. Make no mistake, these cowardly cabinet members are resigning to protect their own reputations from having to decide one way or the other. Instead they let the monster continue tearing apart the United States.
Why is it a coward's way out? First, none of what happened this week is a surprise. Trump set the false expectation of election tampering starting months before the election, and since the election on November 6 he has taken to social media and friendly TV news every single day to spread false, zero-evidence claims of election fraud. He has encouraged his supporters to "defend" the US against this vast but unspecified conspiracy that is "stealing" the election from voters. There can be no surprise that it came to violence. Anyone who wanted to protest the damage Trump was wreaking should've acted weeks ago. By staying this long they are actively complicit.
Second, resigning now absolves these officials of responsibility for acting to limit further damage. There are numerous, serious calls for Vice President Pence and cabinet members to exercise a provision in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution that allow for an unfit president to be removed from power. Cabinet members resigning now are dodging their responsibility to make a clear, yes-no decision on this important matter. In fact, each resignation is further complicity in enabling Trump's continued coup against the US government as it makes it that much harder to reach the threshold required to force Trump's removal. Make no mistake, these cowardly cabinet members are resigning to protect their own reputations from having to decide one way or the other. Instead they let the monster continue tearing apart the United States.
