For all of their faults and ethical lapses, the Founders understood that for the United States to survive as a democracy, its executive could not enjoy the absolute authority of the British monarchy. Our president was understood by the Founders as a necessary central leader but one not above the law and statutorily accountable to the people. The idea of a president who could make up the rules as he went along or defy the Constitution at will was soundly rejected by those gathered in Philadelphia to create a new nation. Today, we find ourselves confronted by a president who is the Founder’s worst nightmare and an immediate threat to the domestic and international security of the United States.

Donald Trump began his march to the White House by perpetuating the lie that the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama, was not a United States citizen. He continued trolling President Obama through the Democratic presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton in 2016, and mastered the use of social media to spread lies and misinformation about his opponent. His present avalanche of lies should come as no surprise because his past history in New York City is replete with a trail of falsehoods and outright lies that should have been fair warning. Donald Trump has never cared for the truth or for Black and brown people for that matter. His dangerous declarations during the Central Park jogger episode helped frame five innocent young Black men, behavior for which he has yet to take responsibility. The only thing Donald Trump has ever cared about is himself. His niece and sister have both confirmed that fact. Trump is a despicable and deplorable human being who will stoop as low as necessary to maintain his unearned privilege.

In the midst of a historic deadly pandemic, we have an American president who undermines the expertise of health care professionals, encourages Americans to jeopardize their health through reckless behavior, and trivializes the deaths of almost 400,000 American citizens. Donald Trump has yet to utter a truly empathetic word for families grieving the loss of a loved one from COVID-19. Trump callously dismisses the sacrifices being made by our health care workers and rejects the data that details the extent of this pandemic in the United States. He would gladly trade the lives of another 400,000 citizens if it meant a bump in the Dow Jones and more wealth for the nation’s monied elite. To say that there is blood on his hands is being polite. Donald Trump is the Grim Reaper and his incompetence and carelessness is personally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

While his past behavior was appalling, his attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election is frightening. Trump sees himself as a deity, without fault and not subject to the law. He is incapable of reconciling the election results as a personal rejection and must conjure up conspiracy theories on why more Americans voted for Joe Biden than him. When he was a private citizen, Trump was an annoyance and his erratic behavior was easily dismissed because he held no power to alter the course of the nation. However, in his previous failed attempts to win the White House, he discovered the manipulative power of racism and classism in the political sphere, and he exploited it to the fullest extent. Today, he presents himself as a victim, done in by the liberal deep state that marshals Blacks and other ethnicities to their cause. Sadly, this narrative appeals to the collective ignorance of a large swath of America. It cannot be ignored or simply wished away because it now threatens to be permanently rooted in communities across the nation.

Despite being impeached, Trump continues to believe he is above the law. That sentiment is helped by the impotency of Republicans on Capitol Hill and their surrender to Trump’s dictator-like rule. His most recent effort to overturn the results of the presidential balloting in Georgia, while constitutionally impermissible, must be taken seriously. In a naked power grab, Donald Trump is openly advocating a coup of the government of the United States. He is defying the findings of his own Justice Department in regard to the 2020 election, as well as Republican lawmakers in states he lost, and dozens of federal judges who have ruled against Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. He persists for one reason – to raise money for himself under the guise of fighting nonexistent election fraud. This is all a fraud for which Donald Trump needs to be prosecuted for abusing the federal tax code to raise money under false pretenses.

For some prosecuting Trump is seen as dangerous; a surefire way to rile up his cult and provoke a violent reaction. I say, so what. We cannot allow Donald Trump off the hook because if we do, there will be another Trump-like candidate, or Trump himself, in our future. Donald Trump needs to be charged, prosecuted, tried, convicted, and put in jail. He is the most dangerous threat to this nation since the Confederacy. By allowing him to walk unfettered we give license to the most dangerous elements lurking in our society, some of whom have surfaced over the last 4 years. Donald Trump must pay for the damage he has caused the United States, his abuse of power and his refusal to honor the oath of his office. Forty-five presidencies in American history, each challenged by the circumstances of their times and the human frailties of the incumbent, but none so motivated by greed and power, or conducted so recklessly as the presidency of Donald Trump. There is no mercy or forgiveness I can conjure up for this demented individual. He deserves to spend his remaining years in jail.