Am I living in an episode of “South Park?”
This is what I was thinking as I watched a mob of confused, angry, conspiracy-brained cultists violently break into the Capital and desecrate the seat of our democracy.
Everyone remembers the events that transpired on Jan. 6, 2021. But, not enough people are aware of what Donald Trump was doing in the two months that preceded that day.
While Trump was on a crusade of lies, knowingly spreading false claims that the election was “stolen,” ironically, he and his lackeys were actually attempting to steal the election. Their actions, while certainly unethical, were in many cases, downright illegal. This has been well-documented in special prosecutor Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump, which was approved by a grand jury in August 2023.
Shortly after Election Day on Nov. 5, 2020, Trump began a massive pressure campaign to overturn the results of the election. The New York Times estimated that Trump “pressured state and federal government officials to overturn the results of the election in more than 30 phone calls or meetings.” Many of his targets were state GOP officials in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
The most significant part of Trump’s plan to stay in power was the “fake electors scheme.” Trump’s allies orchestrated a plot to create fraudulent slates of electors in seven states Trump had lost — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. On Dec. 14, 2020, the day the electors were required to convene in each state to cast their votes for president and vice president, at the direction of Trump and his cronies, groups of Trump supporters also convened in the seven targeted states. They cast fraudulent ballots in favor of Trump, signed certificates falsely attesting to be the “duly elected and qualified electors” and transmitted their votes to Congress and the vice president.
As the certification of the election grew closer — and it became clear that state GOP officials would not overturn the results of the election and that the courts would not entertain Trump’s bogus claims of election fraud — Trump and his team turned their attention to former Vice President Mike Pence. As mandated by the Constitution, the vice president, as president of the Senate, is tasked with overseeing the certification of the presidential election in Congress — though this has always been thought of as a ceremonial role. However, John Eastman, a lawyer, academic and key member of Trump’s legal team, argued that the Twelfth Amendment gives the vice president complete control over the counting of electoral votes and the resolution of election disputes.
Based on this dubious legal theory, Trump and his team wanted Pence to unilaterally hand the election to Trump by either recognizing the fraudulent Trump electors instead of the legitimate Joe Biden electors or refusing to count either slate of electors from the seven states. Both scenarios would have tipped the electoral count in Trump’s favor.
Another strategy Trump employed to undermine the results of the election deserves attention — Trump attempted to pressure the Department of Justice to open widespread investigations of election fraud, a cynical ploy to make his conspiracy theories look like legitimate concerns. Bill Barr, Trump‘s attorney general, would not play ball. He announced publicly that there was no evidence of voter fraud and resigned from the administration. Barr’s successor, Jeffrey Rosen, and his deputy, Richard Donoghue, told Trump on numerous occasions that his claims of election fraud were false. Even so, according to the Associated Press, Trump continued his efforts and, at various points, pressured the department “to seize voting machines, to appoint a special counsel to probe fraud claims and to simply declare the election corrupt.” Donoghue testified that in one phone call after Rosen protested, “the DOJ can’t and won’t snap its fingers and change the outcome of the election,” to which Trump responded, “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” Trump eventually backed off, but that was only after Rosen and other top DOJ officials threatened to resign en masse rather than comply with his directives.
In the days leading up to Jan. 6 — the day the election must be certified by Congress — Trump ramped up a private and public pressure campaign to force Pence to use his ceremonial role at the proceeding to reverse the outcome in Trump’s favor. But Pence held his ground, maintaining that the Constitution granted him no such authority. In one phone call, after Pence communicated this to Trump directly, Trump responded, “you’re too honest … hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts … people are gonna think you’re stupid.” Reflecting on these events, Pence has said, “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution.”
On Jan. 6, during his speech at the ellipse, Trump declared “… if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election.” Directing his supporters to march on the capital, Trump told them “… if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Shortly after, the capital was besieged, delaying the certification of the electoral vote. As the mob ransacked the building, many of the rioters chanted, “hang Mike Pence.” The peaceful transfer of power, one of the most essential democratic norms, was violated.
With the election on the horizon, I would like to deliver this message:
Should Trump prevail on Nov. 5, not only will the reins of the Executive Branch be handed to a wannabe Caesar, but the American people will have effectively co-signed his treasonous behavior. Despotism should not be given a stamp of approval.
Nathan Huppert is a junior majoring in political science.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.