A Metaphorical Call To Arms

Once a President, always a President

Listen

0:00

Lest we forget, the president’s main responsibility is to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of his or her Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The presidential oath is a foundational element of the Constitution. It confers upon the incumbent a quasi-sacred responsibility that supersedes all other roles of the presidency.

The presidential oath was a formality in the past, but it has been upheld since the beginning of the American Republic.

That is, until the unprecedented presidency of Donald J. Trump.

All other things being equal, the events of January 6, 2021, and the elated conspiracy to deny the American people the results of a lawful and democratic election should be at the centre of the 2024 election. Politics aside, when an individual goes down the path of insurrection, there is no coming back—or so you would think.

Once a president, always a president. All presidents carry the burden of the nation’s moral authority, even when they have left office. In exceptional circumstances, they must exercise this moral authority not as partisan politicians but as worthy individuals who have experienced the nation’s highest office. To shy away from such moral authority is not an option. 

Today, just over a month before the elections, is such a time.

Today, America finds itself in an unprecedented state of division, a stark contrast to its past unity.

Donald Trump’s political discourse is beyond the pale and should not be considered simple rhetoric. If there is one lesson we have learned from the past, it is that tyranny does not appear out of thin air. It needs demagogues to vehicle its dark intentions. Trump’s language is becoming more and more extreme as the moment of truth approaches. He is prepared to sacrifice America’s honour, dignity and valour on the sacrifice of his vanity and, by doing so, threaten the very foundation of the American Constitution. His vicious and repugnant calls to dehumanise whole parts of society harken back to a practice that led to the extermination of over six million people during the last World War. Let there be no doubt that such a situation is not an exaggeration or political fearmongering. It si an unrefutable and objective fact. Trump’s language serves a clear purpose to take away the freedoms of all Americans. His only disadvantage is that it probably sounded better in the original German.

That is why all living US presidents, Republican and Democrat alike, must stand up and say enough is enough. It is now incumbent on them to take an unequivocal position in favour of American democracy and state that Donald J. Trump is unfit for office and that the only vote possible is a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barely two years before the 250th Celebration of the Declaration of Independence, duty requires such action. This call to arms, in a metaphorical sense, is of the utmost importance to ensure that the 250th anniversary in 2026 will not be celebrated under the dark cloud of Trumpian tyranny.