Former President Donald Trump was indicted yesterday. It wasn’t the first time, nor is it likely to be the last. Yesterday’s indictment was specifically for several crimes associated with conspiring to defraud Americans about the 2020 election (conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding). Each of these indictments is a sad day for the country. Last night, I was watching news coverage about the indictments, and one of the commentators was so giddy, like a child on Christmas morning, that it was disturbing. I know a lot of people will rejoice over the series of indictments against Trump, and I am happy he is facing consequences for his complete disregard for the rule of law. However, I also think each of these indictments are also an indictment of the American people.
Trump never received a majority of the popular vote, but it still shows that there are a large number of Americans who do not care about the laws of this country or their fellow Americans but care only about having control over others. Supporters of candidates like Trump, Ron DeSantis, or Greg Abbott don’t measure the success of these politicians on what they have done for them but what they have done against those they hate, whether that means someone of a different race or sexuality (among numerous other groups because these same people strive on their hatred of those not like them).
Furthermore, I’m not going to rejoice just yet over Trump receiving his comeuppance, because indictments are only the beginning. I will rejoice (if you can even call it that) only when he has been convicted and sent to prison. As one commentator said last night, that’s a long way away. Even if he’s convicted, it will be a long process, and sadly, Trump is likely not going to prison until he’s exhausted all of his appeals, if he is ever sentenced to prison time in the first place.
The saddest part of all of this is not only that it shows that democracy in the United States is broken, but that there will still be Trump supporters who will still be Trump supporters when he’s proven guilty and escorted to prison. They’ll see this as purely political. This is a dark period of American democracy. The fact that a Trump was ever elected in the first place shows how broken the United States is. History will not look kindly on Americans of this era. The question we need to worry most about is: Will American democracy survive this era?
The Closet Professor 
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