In all the millions of words written or spoken about the January 6 Insurrection, I don’t recall anyone describing what would have happened had the mob — and Trump — been successful. So I asked my friend Bob Priddy (the smartest person I know) to speculate.
“There would have been more lawsuits than we could count and Trump’s judicial appointees would support democracy, to his howling dismay and most Republicans and every Democrat in congress would stand together against any such illegal power grab. The capitol would become a fortress for the Trump mob while its leader quickly would be in custody on numerous incitement and conspiracy charges, be ruled incompetent to continue to serve under the 25th Amendment, and his Vice-President would emerge from his hiding place to proclaim the legitimate process of government would continue. He, as the new commander in chief of the military and in exigent circumstances would in no way defend Trump (recall that in the immediate aftermath of January 6 most GOP’ers flatly and publicly blamed Trump and their cowering did not develop until he left office in the normal course of events — a situation that would not exist if the mob gained control of the capitol), would call upon the protestors to surrender or starve to death or be killed by military forces that would go room to room hauling people out or killing them. Congress, or as many members of it as survived, would reassemble; states would re-certify the election results and the certification process would be completed.
President Pence would, as he did, attend the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, wherever it would be held, and would leave Washington a hero rather than a temporarily-noble Trump nebbish who rose above himself at a critical time.
The following days could have been a despicable bloodbath but the insurrection would have been contained to the capitol. There might be minor uprisings in several states but the National Guard would be activated by governors and the uprisings would have been put down and state courts and local prosecutors would have reacted as usual and constitutionally-punished the trouble-makers.
There would not be a civil war but there would have been blots throughout the nation that time would never erase. But Democracy would have survived because the nation would not geographically divide.
Donald Trump would face criminal charges and unending civil lawsuits seeking damages to the Capitol and personal injuries by those who resisted the mob or private citizens whose well-being was threatened. He would declare bankruptcy to escape payment of damages but would be allowed to keep his domicile under the bankruptcy code. The rest of his empire would crumble because it is built on paper and would return pennies on the dollar to satisfy judgments against him. If convicted of crimes, he could not be put in prison but would instead be sentenced to house arrest, allowed outside for an hour a day for exercise restricted to holes 8-13 on the golf course at Mar-a-lago.
Upon his death, Mar-a-lago would become a national institution for insane oligarchs and in time be transformed into an Ellis Island-type of historic site.
Each year on January 6, or on the Monday closest to it, National Insurrection Day would be observed with parades and speeches focusing on the greatness of a Democracy that withstood its greatest challenge and would never fail.
And urine samples gathered from every member of congress ceremoniously would be poured on the grave of Donald Trump.
I’ll make the same prediction about Trump’s final resting place — and for the same reason — that I made for Rush Limbaugh. It will be inaccessible to the public. El Rushbo is in a private cemetery somewhere in the St. Louis area, not in his hometown of Cape Girardeau.
