Trump's enablers in Congress are not just allies of a subversive -- they are instruments of it: op-ed

Writing in the Washington Post this Monday, columnist Michael Gerson contends that the recently leaked call where President Trump tried to pressure Georgia's secretary of state to recalculate the state's election results in his favor "clarifies the goals of all concerned."

"The president's stated objective is not to expose abuses in the electoral system. It is to pressure the Georgia secretary of state into manipulating the electoral system to squeeze out 11,780 additional votes — Trump specifies the exact number — in his favor," Gerson writes, adding that Trump's "cynical, delusional" justifications are beside the point. "He would say anything — invent any lie, allege any conspiracy, defame any opponent, spread any discredited rumor — to perpetuate his power."

According to Gerson, this, in turn, exposes the intentions of Trump's enablers in Congress.

"When Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and their GOP colleagues try to disrupt and overturn a free and fair election, they are no longer just allies of a subversive; they become instruments of subversion. They not only help a liar; they become liars," writes Gerson. "They not only empower conspiracy theories; they join a conspiracy against American democracy. They not only excuse institutional arson; they set fire to the Constitution and dance around the flame."

Gerson says that in actuality, the motives for undermining the 2020 election no longer matter. Ultimately, Trump's enablers are "simple cowards, frightened by angry people wearing red hats."

Read the full op-ed over at The Washington Post.