The resultant outrage led to huge demonstrations in pretty much every major city that started peacefully during the days but escalated into violence at night. This rioting and rampaging went on for almost two weeks and including on January 20th, Inauguration Day. In many cities, the violence jumped from property destruction to armed encounters between the different sides, and then, in Portland something happened and someone fired a shot, and the confrontation broke out into a firefight with large numbers of deaths on both sides. Finally, the governor of Oregon declared a state of emergency and the NG was sent in to restore order. The inauguration happened inside the Capital with limited attendance and there was a huge police and NG presence surrounding the Capital and large riotous crowds throughout downtown DC. The inauguration was quickly over... but the violence started to swell. The NG was out in force and quickly suppressed outbreaks of violence, but smoke and tear gas lingered as the evening came. Everyone knew it was going to get worse.
That evening, the newly-sworn in President Trump asked for and received airtime to talk to the nation. The networks announced that the President would be appealing for calm and unity, and that he would make a special announcement, but although there was considerable speculation no one was really sure. The nation tuned in to watch. Trump appeared in the White House, in the Oval Office, and greeted the public with the typical "Good evening, my fellow Americans." He paused, and the camera view widened to show the Oval Office. Trump was not alone. VP Pence was there, as well as Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy... and also Senators Mitt Romney, Josh Hawley, Joe Mancin, and former GA Democrat representative Vernon Jones, an African-American who had defied his party and endorsed Trump for the presidency and then was forced into resigning by the GA state Democrat Party for "not sharing our values." George W Bush and Bill Clinton were there as well... but not Obama. Chief Justice John Roberts was there as well, dressed in his black robe.
Trump spoke briefly, thanked his supporters, and then shocked the nation by telling them that he was going to be resigning the presidency immediately, leaving Mike Pence as president. Trump quoted parts of MLK's famous "I've seen the Mountain Top" speech, telling America that better days are coming if we all come together, and that "I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land, the future, and it will be bright. We have the vaccine, we'll put the pandemic behind us, and America will be greater than ever. The fraudulent election has been fixed, yet just as we couldn't stand to see the presidency stolen, setting it right will require sacrifice from all of us, including me. I've set the stage, and while I will not be your president, I'm leaving you in good hands, and I'm doing so in a way that is meant to put the partisanship behind us and get past this. The people I leave behind have pledged to fix our election system so what happened never happens again, and America will be able to trust in the fairness of our elections. I understand Dr King, and as he said, I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land, America the Great. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything." And then he offered his resignation and it was accepted.
VP Pence was then sworn in to be America's 46th president, his wife joining him as Melania Trump joined her husband, and the other presidents' wives joined them. Immediately afterward, he announced a full pardon for Trump and his family... and for the Bidens, and for the Clintons... saying that while he didn't presume that any of the recipients necessarily had done something illegal that would be shielded by a pardon, the time for using the legal system to attack political enemies was over, and though he knew no one would agree on all of the pardons he was granting, it was the only way to start from a clean slate and to put the past behind us. He also said that this would likely never happen again, but that unusual times called for unusual methods. He mused on how, perhaps, things might have been done differently if our leaders back in the fall of 1860 had been able to look ahead and see 600,000 dead Americans and the resultant bitterness leading to over a century of African-American oppression and disenfranchisement... that there had to have been a better way, a way to not kill off 3% of the population with civil war and leave the country divided in spirit leaving aftereffects that linger today. This was our chance to learn from our ancestors' mistakes instead of going down the same path, he said. And then he thanked Trump for having the courage to put the country before himself by resigning and sacrificing his presidency when he wasn't obligated to do so. He finished by asking the nation to put the country before self, to put aside the anger from the election and its outcome, to reject violence, and to join together to help make America the best version of itself. "I know, half of you didn't vote for me, but I need to be your president too, and that means I'll have to earn it by addressing your concerns. It's time for the American people, all of them to win, not some politician running for office. Help me, help your fellow Americans... let us all help each other."
Then, he had McConnell and Pelosi come up to the podium with him, and he nominated Democrat Vernon Jones for the office of vice president. Both Leader Mitchell and Speaker Pelosi, and the minority leaders in both houses, pledged to support the nomination and have the vote by the end of the next day. The event ended with all of the leaders shaking hands and agreeing to work for the good of the country over the interests of their party, and asking everyone to do the same. The post-event commentators across all of the networks were floored.
I had the news on as I sipped on my first cup of coffee, switching from the broadcast networks to CNN to Fox to see how the country was taking all of it in. The riots had stopped, the protests had stopped, and all of the reporters and commentators seemed shocked by what had happened. Several ordinary people were interviewed, and all of them expressed hope for the country and for the future. Even Joe Biden, while angry about how the election had been decided, stated that he agreed that Trump did the right thing by stepping down instead of serving a second term as president after such a widely disputed election, and that having a Democrat as VP would help to heal the country... and then he said that the country needed to put this behind us and move on.
And then I woke fully, and realized that it was just a dream.
