Yesterday at a press conference, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had the audacity to say, “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” Perhaps he was being sarcastic or joking, but we can’t take his words lightly. Trump has been trying to undermine our democracy by claiming that our presidential election was stolen. Judges, reporters, and regular American citizens have asked for proof of this claim, and the Trump campaign has failed to deliver.
What’s even more disappointing is the complacency of the Republican Party. They are not only remaining quiet about it, they are encouraging the lunacy by helping to spread disinformation on social media platforms. What happened to the constitutional conservatives I admired when I was a Republican? Those who preached and preached during President Obama’s administration that we should be a country that follows the Constitution — why are they now silent? We can’t be silent about this because if we are, we could lose our democracy. We must speak out and have our voices heard. We need to do all we can to help the Democrats win the Georgia Senate races. Only with a Democratic Senate can there be accountability.
Today is Veteran’s Day, so I am calling on all Veterans, myself included, to raise our voices. We can tell Pompeo and Trump to end this fascism by conceding to the election results and recognizing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the president and vice president–elect. Pompeo’s words must be condemned. I believe in free speech but even the U.S. Constitution allows for limitations on certain categories of speech. Government officials going beyond these limits could lead to grave consequences, like inciting a civil war or a coup, that are certain to fail. My hope for today is that American Veterans around the world remind Pompeo that we are a democracy, not a fascist country.
