Rep. Becca Balint: I’m a Queer Progressive Member of Congress and I’m Attending Donald Trump’s Inauguration

By Rep. Becca Balint
On January 20th, I will be sitting with other members of Congress to watch as Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. I won’t enjoy it. In fact, I fully expect the taste of bile to linger in my mouth. But I feel I need to be there. My presence–and that of my Democratic colleagues–will be a living embodiment of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said over 60 years ago: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Donald Trump refused to attend President Biden’s inauguration, revealing his cowardice and lack of character. I will be there as a reminder that in our democracy we don’t only attend the peaceful transfer of power when our candidate wins. I’m taking a stand for the rule of law and our Constitution.
I am choosing calm in this frightening time in our nation’s history. Not because I’m blind to the dangers we face, but because this moment requires calm, focus, and a clarity of purpose. I won’t allow myself to make decisions guided by fear; I want to be stone-cold sober in this work. As historian and journalist Anne Applebaum has written, “Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy.” I take this to heart. As the granddaughter of a man murdered in the Holocaust, I understand what can–and will–happen when we allow ourselves to be enticed by the dangerous, easy answers offered by a man who is enamored with authoritarians and dictators around the world. It never ends well for all the people scapegoated: women, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, migrants, non-Christians, the poor, and anyone who defies Trump’s lies. And it’s rotting our democracy from the inside.
Donald Trump has been called a lot of names since he first entered politics, but despite how apt many of them are, the sheer volume of the descriptors has had the unintended impact of muddying the issue. The constant blatant lies, rage-baiting, sexism, fear-mongering, dog whistles, incompetence, arrogant bluster, and willful ignorance are all horribly offensive. Trump is a garden-variety demagogue and his playbook is not new. His incendiary messages are neither clever nor novel. But he has more potent media tools at his disposal, and he’s spent the last eight years bullying CEOs into making them even more potent. This corrupted ecosystem is now filled with apologists and suck-ups–from members of Congress to podcasters to billionaires.
My presence at the inauguration will be my way of saying “I see you and I know what you’re about. And I won’t be intimidated by you.” It will be a way to show Americans and viewers across the world that I respect the vote of the people, unlike Trump himself. Four years on, he’s still lying about the 2020 Election. And Republican leaders in both the House and the Senate are not just complicit in these lies; they facilitated them, and they are now trapped by them. Their fealty to Trump and his ridiculous lie have revealed their willingness to give away their own legislative power. Of course, it’s bad for our democratic institutions, but it’s also bad for the voters who sent them here to work on their behalf. Americans don’t want massive tax giveaways to billionaires. They don’t want Social Security and Medicare to be on the chopping block. They want real relief from an economy that’s rigged against them.
My Republican colleagues have covered for Trump’s lies for so long that they have lost their way. Instead of fighting for the people, they spend a lot of their time and energy trying to stay out of the crosshairs of Trump, Elon Musk, and online extreme right-wing personalities. It must be exhausting to live in such cognitive dissonance all the time, and it must be personally embarrassing in those infrequent but scary moments of reflection. All the more reason to keep lying, to stuff down the truth of it all. They–like similar political actors around the world–have allowed themselves to drown under what Applebaum calls the “cascades of falsehood.”
Unlike all the election deniers who will be in attendance at the inauguration, including the man being sworn in, I have the peace, strength, and courage that comes from knowing I am not licking anyone’s boots. I am not trapped in a lie. I am my own woman. And I will face the next four years with clarity, a clear conscience, and a deep commitment to doing whatever I can, whenever and wherever I can, to shore up our delicate, ailing democracy. And to do meaningful, consequential work on behalf of my constituents to make life better for them and for Americans across the nation.
Rep. Becca Balint is a mom, teacher, and progressive leader who represents Vermont’s at-large district in Congress. She is the first woman and openly LGBTQ+ person to represent her home state of Vermont.