by Kate Diuguid ’22

Treason is defined in The United States Constitution as “intentionally betraying one’s allegiance by levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” Most state constitutions hold a similar, if not the same, definition and require either two witnesses or a confession in an open court to convict. The penalty for treason under federal law is a minimum of five years in prison or the death penalty. The definition stems from the Treason Act of 1351 in the English Parliament, which describes “levying war” as the assembly of armed people to overthrow the government or to resist its laws. 

On Wednesday, January 6, a mob of MAGA-hat and camouflage-donning angry “nationalists” breached the Capital building in hopes of overturning the 2020 election. Supporters of Trump arrived in Washington D.C. to attend the “Save America March,” but President Trump’s subsequent speech brought about something more violent than a march. “We’re going to have to fight much harder,” he told his livid supporters who had gathered on and around the National Mall, “You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” Sentence after sentence, his speech was sprinkled with violent calls-to-action and permission to do whatever they could to “stop the steal.” There is no denying that even if Trump did not explicitly tell his supporters to break into the Capital toting weapons, he assuredly incited the violence that was to follow. “We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” he told his followers that day, and they listened, “We are listening to Trump, your boss!” they shouted in the faces of Capitol Police in a video shared by CNN. President Trump incited a riot against one of the most sacred buildings in America after feeding his most extreme followers’ delusions for two months about a fraudulent election. These actions constitute the constitutional definition of treason. Trump and his “army” attacked the government, attempting to interfere with the constitutional election.

This past Wednesday’s riots at the Capital have opened many eyes to the extent of President Trump’s wrongdoings. While insurrectionists storming a federal building at the instruction of the President certainly is not something you see every day, this wasn’t the first time President Trump betrayed the interests of the nation he swore to serve and protect. On Saturday, January 2, a call in which President Trump encouraged Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes for him was recorded, essentially asking Raffensperger to commit fraud by declaring Trump the victor of the 2020 race. President Trump put his own pride over a free and fair (and constitutional) election. But, this wouldn’t be the first sketchy phone call of Trump’s tenure as President. On July 25, 2019, Trump held a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in which he requested Zelensky find damaging information on President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Trump wanted to tarnish the Biden name as it was becoming clear that Biden would be a frontrunner for Democratic Nominee for President in the 2020 race. Trump requested foreign aid in his election efforts, attempting to undermine a sacred and constitutional election process for his own personal gain. While alone these are seen as crimes, the consistent occurrences add up to a treasonous presidency, with President Trump looking to undermine the government and its constitutional practices time and time again.

While it may not constitute treason by definition, President Trump’s constant fear of appearing weak led to his failure of leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic in which more than 400,000 Americans have died from the virus. That figure represents 20 percent of Covid deaths worldwide for a country with less than 5 percent of the world population. His utter lack of leadership caused the loss of untold lives.  While Trump may not be levying a literal war on America in these instances, he surely is levying a metaphorical one; Trump and his “patriots” vs America.