The United States is at a crossroads. the accusation of former President Donald Trump by the Justice Department of the Biden administration represents a pivotal point in our national history.
As a society, we are beginning to get serious about rebuilding Americans’ badly eroded trust in our institutions. Or do we continue to pursue our political vendettas blind to the fact that we have entered a dangerous time for our democracy.
It’s clear to me, after watching news coverage of the impeachment, that many media commentators still haven’t grasped the dangers of this moment. Perhaps after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the traumas of 2020 and the entire dramatic arc of the Trump presidency, it is difficult to see another scandal in which the former president fundamentally changes much of anything .
But it would be a grave mistake for the pastors of our public discourse to fail to consider the danger of this particular turn in our politics and what it means for American democracy.
Unlike Trump’s earlier indictment of the Manhattan district attorney, the former president’s legal exposure in the handling of classified documents and possible obstruction of justice appears to be significant. The evidence against Trump, who faces 37 felonies, appears to be substantial.
The former attorney general of the Trump administration, Bill Barr, has given a dire assessment of the prospects of Trump’s acquittal: “The government’s agenda was to protect these documents and get them out. … We have to wait let’s see what the defense says and what it proves to be true, but I think … if even half of it is true, then it’s toast. … It’s very detailed indictment and it is very, very damning.”
This reality dramatically raises the stakes of the 2024 presidential election, both for Trump and for the nation.
Trump could go to jail
Trump faces the very real possibility of prison if convicted. He must win the 2024 presidential election to pardon himself or help another Republican win the White House next year to be in line for a pardon. For those who worry that Trump will say and do anything in his pursuit of power, how much more afraid should Americans be now that Trump has to gain power to protect himself from spending the rest of his life in prison?
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Many of Trump’s prominent supporters in the past, such as lawyer and prominent conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and Sen. Lindsey Graham, RSC, are now giving in his possible guilt.
But for many ordinary Republicans, the case against Trump is a glaring example of a double standard applied to Republicans in general and Trump specifically in the administration of justice.
“Is he a threat to national security to the extent that the former President of the United States, and current Republican front-runner for the nomination, should face criminal charges?” Shapiro said. “The answer is no. And the reason the answer is no is because we have disparate treatment from these other public officials, including most egregiously Hillary Clinton.”
You don’t have to be a Trump supporter to understand how these arguments can play out among conservatives.
“Most Republicans believe that the law is now a political tool,” Graham told ABC News, “that those responsible have their thumb on the scales.”
It is in this climate that President Joe Biden has seen fit to allow the federal prosecution of his main political opponent as we move toward the 2024 election. This is done in the name of justice and so that no one is above the law.
However, Democrats and Republicans, whether they agree with them or not, have reason to believe that the other side holds their own leaders above the law.
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So this is the moment we find ourselves in as a nation: the sitting president of the United States is behind the prosecution of a former president and his main opponent in the next election. The former president, with the most loyal followers in all of American politics, must win re-election to be sure to avoid prison.
These are not ideal circumstances to expect politicians of either party to abide by the rules of fairness and civility.
“They thought the way they’re going to stop us is by using what’s called ‘war.’ And that’s what it is, this is a war for the law.” Trump said of the special counsel’s investigation.
Whether that’s fair or not, Trump is right that our politics feel more and more like war. In this scenario, one side or the other must be effectively defeated. There is no in between.
Americans’ distrust of major institutions is at dangerous levels
The politics that will unfold from these developments are potentially apocalyptic and will bring out the worst in each side. But we could weather a legal showdown between our two leading presidential candidates if Americans’ trust in the Justice Department, the electoral system, the media, and our political parties were strong.
Is not.
As it stands, many Americans do not trust any of our major institutions, both because they divide us and because we are already divided.
The polarizing hurricane could get even more intense soon. Trump could lose re-election and find himself in prison. In this case, millions of Americans will feel that their chosen candidate was targeted and imprisoned by a malicious government. So what will they do?
Then again, Trump can still be elected president, with power over his enemies and little reason to be generous. What consequences will millions of Americans then fear?
Creepy and illegitimate: That’s how many of our fellow citizens will likely see the next President of the United States.
We probably can’t avoid this storm. But we can push back, press for reform of our institutions, and rebuild trust among the American people. Even if it seems impossible, it’s what we have to do.
If America were blessed with a media that humanized the American people among themselves, thoughtfully reflecting on the sources of our distrust of each other in ways that did not reduce us to stereotypes, how much harder would it be for politicians face us each other through propaganda and cultural warfare posturing?
If America had had a Department of Justice that was concerned with the perception of unequal justice and the preservation of social cohesion of the American people, we may not have seen the indictment of a former president under these circumstances.
Of course, one must respect the argument that justice must be done, even if heaven and earth fall. But former Vice President Mike Pence’s demand that Attorney General Merrick Garland speak directly to the American people — about the reasons for Trump’s prosecution and why he’s not a politician — is reasonable.
Even if only 5% of Americans took the explanation seriously, anything that moves the needle toward trust and transparency in this environment is worth doing.
If the American people were united, not in political agreement but in human empathy, we could better trust the poll workers and poll tellers who run our election system on the ground.
If we could humanize our disagreements, we might not conclude that our neighbors are racist or that our elementary school teachers are trying to indoctrinate our children.
The country would not feel like it is falling apart, even if our leaders seem to be pulling us down.
Work is being done across America to restore the bonds of trust between the American people. From July 5 to July 8, near the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, Braver angels (for which I work) will bring together possibly the largest group in American history of leaders and ordinary citizens committed to restoring goodwill and cooperation among the American people.
Hundreds of other organizations such as Listen to First Coalition, New pluralists i Start with Us they represent a starting point for those who want to bridge the toxic partisan divide. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what I might need. But it’s a start.
We are at the crossroads. And it seems that we are headed for further division and destruction. But it is not too late to choose to find common ground between us, for the sake of our nation and ourselves.
John Wood Jr. is a columnist for USA TODAY Opinion. He is the national ambassador of Braver angels, former candidate for Congress, former vice chairman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, musical artist, and a noted writer and speaker on issues such as racial and political reconciliation. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnRWoodJr
