![]() ![]() In my book, Unthinkable, I did not set out to write a tome about Donald Trump. These things inspired me to make a case not just against a savagely corrupt president, but for American constitutional democracy itself. Speaker Pelosi’s invitation forced me to draw upon the deepest springs of meaning and clarity I had in life: the love of my three children and my wife, Sarah the wisdom of my late parents Tommy’s remarkable political values the strength of my siblings the dreams and fears of my childhood the insight of my teachers and creativity of my students the inextinguishable resiliency and solidarity of my Maryland constituents the genius of my political and academic colleagues the vision of my mentors and boundless generosity of my friends the amazing constancy of my staff and the moral courage of my fellow citizens past and present. It was the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do professionally, at the most difficult time I have ever experienced personally, but the assignment became, paradoxically, a salvation and sustenance for me, a pathway back to the land of the living and a fountain of hope that renewed and strengthened my radical faith in democracy, the system of beliefs and practices that upholds the equal rights of the individual and demands that we all work together to take care of our common inheritance. Senate to prosecute Trump for inciting violent insurrection against Congress on January 6. On the day before we voted in the House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump, when it was clear the votes were there, she asked me to be the lead impeachment manager, to organize and lead the team of House members we would send over to the U.S. And yet, at a moment of impenetrable darkness, the lowest point I have ever experienced-a time when I went for days without sleeping or eating a real meal-the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, threw me a lifeline: acting on astounding faith and something like political clairvoyance, she offered me an invitation that was akin to a challenge, a dare to rise up from my despondency and to bring others along with me. I was devastated and crushed by these traumatic events. ![]() When these underlying crises turned into the private and public traumas of suicide and violent insurrection, they demolished all the core assumptions I carried around with me each day-that my children would be healthy and alive, that they would let my wife, Sarah, and me know if they needed anything, that no political party or power elite would try to overthrow our constitutional democracy, that the country would continue to successfully grow beyond its historic baseline of violent white supremacy and a racial caste system. Similarly, before the attempted coup of January 6 destroyed our fundamental expectations about the peaceful transfer of power in America, the norms of our constitutional democracy had already been overrun by years of media propaganda, social media disinformation, racist violence, conspiracy theorizing, and authoritarian demagoguery. Like millions of other young Americans, he grew despondent during the COVID-19 pandemic, which left him vulnerable to the darkest impulses created by his illness. Tommy’s death by suicide followed a merciless advance of mental illness that seized and ultimately controlled the dazzling mind and pure heart of this brilliant and empathetic young man. ![]() I will probably spend the rest of my life trying to disentangle and understand them to restore coherence to the world they ravaged.Įach of these traumas was itself the product of an underlying crisis. Capitol that left several people dead, more than 140 Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers wounded and injured, hundreds of people (including several in our family) fleeing for their lives, and the nation shaken to its core.Īlthough Tommy’s death and the January 6 insurrection were cosmically distinct and independent events, they were thoroughly intertwined in my experience and my psyche. ![]() In the week between December 31, 2020, and January 6, 2021, my family suffered two impossible traumas: the shattering death by suicide of my beloved 25-year-old son, Tommy, and the violent mob insurrection at the U.S. ![]()
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