History will be the final Trump judge- Echo letter from Westminister Maryland

History won't judge us kindly for the Trump era (tainted by treason)

The Carroll County Times in Westminister Maryland

Westminister, Maryland- When examining the current (tumultuous) Trump era's history, Matthew George fears, (and I believe) the historians will not judge America kindly. (In other words, Trump supporters deny their responsibility for electing a leader who called on Russia to win votes for him.)

A well-informed, educated and engaged electorate is crucial to a functioning democracy. But 25 years of right-wing demagoguery from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon and countless others have turned a significant portion of our electorate into paranoid conspiracy theorists who seem to hate their own government, who no longer believe in the institutions that have protected our nation, and to whom factual provable truths are now matters of opinion.
Donald Trump, both as a candidate and as president, tapped into this perverse world view held by the extreme right and made it his own. He has perfected a shtick that has turned the base of the Republican Party against the very institutions that ensure an informed democracy; namely the courts, a free press, and our nation's intelligence services. The very institutions that discern, albeit imperfectly, justice, truth and reality in the world around us.

The recent revelation by Donald Trump Jr. that he, the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manfort all met privately with Russian nationals for the express purpose of receiving information compiled by Russian intelligence services attempting to compromise Hilary Clinton should enrage every loyal American.

Sadly, it appears it does not and therein lies the danger to our democracy.

Despite at least 20 public denials by either Trump himself or his aides in the past 13 months, that there was no "collusion" between his campaign and the Russian government, that this "Russian thing" was all "fake news," we now know by their own admission this is not the case. If this does not enrage those on the extreme right who claim to be loyal to this country, than what will?

No, history will not judge our nation kindly looking at the Trump era and the corrosive discourse of our politics that brought us to this point. Sadly, enough sane people saw this Trump train wreck coming, but not enough had the sense to get out of the way.

One thing is certain, whether it is expressly illegal or not, collusion or even attempted collusion with a foreign government to undermine the free and fair election of our president equals treason in the hearts of those who still love this country, and the GOP will be held accountable for this.

Matthew George- Westminister Maryland