As "Democracy On Trial" (2024 release; 142 min.) opens, Trump returns to Washington, DC for the first time since leaving office, to face a criminal indictment for what happened on January 6, 2021. It is the first time in our country's history that a former president faces criminal consequences for his actions while in office. We then switch to the Select Committee of January 6, which was formed following the Republicans' refusal to form a bipartisan committee to investigate what happened on that fateful day. Never before in the history of our country has there been a failure to constitute a bipartisan committee following such momentous moment... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.
Couple of comments: this is directed by Michael Kirk, a veteran of the long-running PBS Frontline franchise (and now in its 42nd season). There are many, many programs and documentaries out there on various aspects of what happened in the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, culminating in the January 6 insurrection. But I don't recall there being on single documentary that summarizes it all so clearly in one fell swoop. And when you see it laid out like it is in this documentary, the inescapable conclusion one is left with is how chilling and how so(m)ber it all is. This wasn't just an accidental outburst. Trump and his lackies knew very well what they were doing, and chose to pursue a path, at whatever the cost, to cripple our democracy and retain power. The crowd that shows up on January 6 was called there by Trump, and then sent down Pennsylvania Avenue "to fight like hell". Also made clear is how Trump's never-ending lies and gaslighting has real life consequences, destroying people's lives along the way (cue: Ruby Freeman, the election worker in Georgia). But THE moment of this recounting of the 2020 election for me comes when the Arizona Speaker of the House meets with Rudy Giuliani. Who had promised to provide bullet-proof evidence of voter fraud, only to hear Giuliani admit that "We have a lot of theories, but we don't have the evidence". Wow, just wow.
"Democracy On Trial" premiered on PBS about a month ago, and I just now caught up with it. If you have any interest in politics in general, and in the events of the 2020 elections specifically, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is directed by Michael Kirk, a veteran of the long-running PBS Frontline franchise (and now in its 42nd season). There are many, many programs and documentaries out there on various aspects of what happened in the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, culminating in the January 6 insurrection. But I don't recall there being on single documentary that summarizes it all so clearly in one fell swoop. And when you see it laid out like it is in this documentary, the inescapable conclusion one is left with is how chilling and how so(m)ber it all is. This wasn't just an accidental outburst. Trump and his lackies knew very well what they were doing, and chose to pursue a path, at whatever the cost, to cripple our democracy and retain power. The crowd that shows up on January 6 was called there by Trump, and then sent down Pennsylvania Avenue "to fight like hell". Also made clear is how Trump's never-ending lies and gaslighting has real life consequences, destroying people's lives along the way (cue: Ruby Freeman, the election worker in Georgia). But THE moment of this recounting of the 2020 election for me comes when the Arizona Speaker of the House meets with Rudy Giuliani. Who had promised to provide bullet-proof evidence of voter fraud, only to hear Giuliani admit that "We have a lot of theories, but we don't have the evidence". Wow, just wow.
"Democracy On Trial" premiered on PBS about a month ago, and I just now caught up with it. If you have any interest in politics in general, and in the events of the 2020 elections specifically, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
