Fate has been unkind to the United States. The nation is grappling simultaneously with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 136,000; the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression; and mind-numbing police brutality, which has generated the largest outpouring of grief and anger against systemic racism in memory.
Perhaps America’s greatest misfortune is that these crises have emerged at a time when its leadership is maliciously dedicated to worsening them.
Donald Trump’s biggest enabler is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell’s response to Trump’s overt appeals to racism? He “is not a racist.”
McConnell’s response to Trump’s failure to contain COVID-19? “President Obama should have kept his mouth shut” and not criticized Trump.
McConnell’s take on Trump’s multiple attacks on the rule of law, including Friday’s commutation of former Trump campaign aide Roger Stone’s prison sentence? Utter silence.