Opinion: Stop comparing Donald Trump to Stacey Abrams
The unfair comparisons between the two leaders on the anniversary of Capitol attack
One year ago today, the American people watched in shock as armed supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to try and stop Congress from affirming the President’s election defeat. Windows were broken, historical artifacts were damaged and, unfortunately, lives were lost.
In a way, this type of violence had been in the works long before January 6. In the months leading up to the 2020 election, the former President began hinting to his supporters that his eventual defeat would be the result of a rigged election. He had been planting that seed in his supporters’ heads for several months.
And after the election, he spent his final weeks saying that the election was rigged and even began encouraging Republican state legislatures in swing states to send their own slate of electors to Congress. He also began teasing a big rally planned for January 6 — the day Congress was set to certify the election results.
That day, he hosted a big rally outside the White House encouraging his supporters to “fight like hell,” and said that he will never concede his loss. He instructed them to march to the Capitol and that he planned to join them. “If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore,” he said.
Sure enough, his supporters did as they were instructed. They marched to the climbed barricades, beat police officers and smashed windows to make their way inside. Members of Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence were immediately rushed away to safety.
Several lives were lost in this horrific attack on American democracy, both on the day of the attack and in the months since. Four supporters of President Trump were killed in the attack, including one woman who was shot by officers while trying to breach the House chamber. Three officers also died, one in the attack and two by suicide.
January 6, 2021 will forever be a stain on American democracy. We have never seen anything like it, and I don’t think any other politician deserves to have themselves compared to these events in any way, shape or form.
But there are some national media talking heads and folks in Georgia’s political circles who continue to draw comparisons between the former President and Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor. They have said that the Democrat is no better than Trump for refusing to concede her loss to now-Governor Brian Kemp in razor-thin 2018 contest.
There are several reasons why this comparison does not hold much water. But for the sake of time, we will only go over three.
First of all, unlike the former President, Abrams did acknowledge that she would not be victorious in her run for governor. In her post-election remarks, which can be viewed above, Abrams admitted that she would not become the next governor of Georgia and that her Republican opponent would be certified as the winner. “I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election,” she said. I cannot recall any instance where Donald Trump publicly acknowledged Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Next, Abrams did not mount a last-ditch effort to pressure county and state election officials to overturn her loss. We all remember listening to the now-infamous phone conversation between President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the defeated President could be heard frantically pressuring state election officials to “find” enough votes to erase Biden’s lead in the state. This frantic effort also led to some election workers receiving threats of violence. Some of them, including Raffensperger, had to hire additional security protection to patrol their homes and offices. Abrams never participated in or incited any effort to demand local election officials to overturn her loss.
The final and most obvious reason why this comparison makes no sense: Abrams never incited a violent mob of her supporters to riot through the streets of Downtown Atlanta or storm the Georgia State Capitol Building. No Abrams supporters smashed the windows of the Gold Dome using flag poles. No Georgia state trooper was killed by an Abrams supporter. I do not recall hearing or reading any violent chants from Abrams supporters similar to the “Hang Mike Pence” chants that we all heard one year ago.
There are a few ways in which the two could be compared. They both filed lawsuits following their defeats (one of the lawsuits filed by Abrams will be heard in court next month). And they both did refuse to concede their defeats — but Abrams acknowledged her opponent as the winner, while Trump never did so.
But for the most part, the comparisons between the two leaders are wholly unfounded. Only one of these two incited a violent mob of their supporters to stop a coequal branch of government from certifying the result of an election, and it was not Stacey Abrams. No matter what your opinions are of either leader, common sense should tell you that there it’s difficult — if not impossible to compare the way these two handled their defeats.
Lastly, I would like to continue to offer my heartfelt and warmest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the Capitol attack. What was supposed to be a normal day in American democracy ended with unspeakable losses of life. This should not have happened and I hope everyone who was responsible is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We must all work together to make sure that something like this never, ever happens again. This is the type of behavior we see in third world countries, not the country that prides itself on being “the greatest country on earth.”