In the book, I Alone Can Fix It, by Carol Leaning and Phillip Rucker, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likened The Former Guy’s attempts to hold unto power after the 2020 election to Adolf Hitler saying that the president was preaching “the gospel of the Fuhrer.”
After being told by a good friend that TFG and his allies were trying to “overturn the Government,” General Milley said, “They may try, but they’re not going to fucking succeed. You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the CIA and the FBI. Were the guys with guns.”
After seeing the events of January 6 unfold, Milley said, “These guys are Nazis, they’re boogaloo boys, they’re Proud Boys. These are the same people we fought in World War II.”
In a Facebook post I wrote on October 7, 2020, a month before the election, I wrote:
Trump stood against all that my Father stood for when in December of 1944, among the deep echoes of the Ardennes forest, he peered the sight of his Browning .50 Cal machine gun. What he saw none of us ever want to see again. God’s will was done then, as it shall be now. He shall bring down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly, says one known to us. Mary, pray for us, now and the hour of our death.
What happened is that Trump was brought down from his throne. I happen to believe that these words were certainly fulfilled in TFG. There isn’t a more fitting person in modern times of a corrupt would-be king being yanked from a powerful and noble “throne.”
In another article on May 31, 2020, Silence is Golden, seven months before the election, I wrote in reference to the Catholic community’s’ complicity with TFG:
Or could it be that some bishops like so many ordinary Catholics like what they see in Trump and see no evil which they cannot or will not name. Maybe they see it but still stay silent? What if their tight grip on the product Trump provides them leads to division and calumny? What if it leads to an American KIA and his parents being dishonored? What if it leads to racist rhetoric and values? What if it leads to attacks against the character of honorable men and women? What if it leads to civil servants being attacked for doing their jobs and upholding their oath to the Constitution? What if it means subverting the rule of law, or attacking those who uphold it? What if it leads to largely peaceful protesters being tear gassed for the sake of a dishonorable presidential pic, one guilty of exploiting of all things a bible and a house of worship? What if it leads to the an assault on truth and leaves in its path a trail of tears? What can they do, he is pro-life, they say. As long as he keeps sending them anti-abortion judges, don’t count on them to speak out. They won’t let go of his hand, period. He could figuratively kill someone on Fifth Avenue and they would still support him. This is the saddest reality of all. I have seen good and holy life long Catholic lay people remain silent in the face of an unprecedented crisis in presidential moral leadership. Perhaps they are simply mirroring what they see with their bishops, nothing more and nothing less.
In an article written on October 22, 2020, One Priest All, a few weeks before the election, I wrote this to priests:
I am anti-abortion, always have been, always will, as a matter of natural and divine law. I will vote Biden, not because of his views on abortion, since I oppose that, but to “reign in the greater harm that otherwise will result” from Trump having four more years. The depth of his gravity must not be allowed to go on. Sufficient proportionate reason exists that would justify a vote for a pro-abort candidate. Trump is unhinged, and preventing him from having any continued access to the nuclear codes is the preeminent pro-life issue of our time. In my view, greater than abortion. This is not hyperbole. Trump seems to have an endless thirst for chaos.
Fast forward to today, with the January 6 insurrection inspired and incited by TFG and existing as a permanent fixture of American history, you have the top US General, Mark Milley, calling TFG’s doctrine at the time the Gospel of the Fuhrer, adding that TFG’s folks were the “people we fought against in WWII” Pretty strong words, ones that ring true whether he uttered them verbatim or not.
Were not the many Catholic bishops and priests aware that aligning oneself with TFG was not a good idea even if he did appoint anti-abortion judges? Didn’t they know that that he was capable of such evil, the attempted overthrow of our Constitutional Government, which led to the death of some innocent people? Did they not know that TFG had and still has an endless thirst for chaos. Didn’t they know that it could have led to more evil than they could have imagined had Trump held unto power.
Many bishops and priests certainly wanted this man to be elected again. So many pushed hard for him, telling faithful Catholics that they were not “true” Catholics if they did not support him. They didn’t actually say it, but they certainly made sure you understood it.
How did they miss that while so many of us in the pew did not?
Something to explore further, and something not soon forgotten.