"We are living in unprecedented times." That is what I, a 13-year-old girl, keeps hearing. Every day, there is something new on the news, something more to sigh at, complain about, and wonder why it happened. This year has been crazy for everyone with COVID-19, but it feels like my family has turned on our TV more times in the past year than in the rest of my life.

Through this all, the American people have needed a leader. We needed a leader when the United States first heard about a deadly virus originating in China that could be devastating if it spread to the United States. We needed a leader when people turned out in record numbers to vote, and the election was so close it couldn’t be decided on November 3rd. But where was our president through all of this? He was supposed to be leading us, but where was he?

Now, just days before his term is due to end, he has been the only president in United States history to be impeached twice. And I think that I’m not the only one wondering how our country is supposed to get through these unprecedented times when we cannot even keep faith in our own president.

According to Article II, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” As CNN Politics says, “This time, while there's an argument he committed treason, Democrats in the House have alleged Trump "engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States."

Unlike much of the politics I have heard about, I actually saw this happening. I watched on the TV as hundreds of people, wearing red hats and carrying signs, marched to the capitol building, fueled by the words of President Trump. He told them that, “We’re going to the capitol,” and, “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” I saw footage of the mob chanting, people breaking windows, spraying tear gas, smashing cameras and other equipment owned by the media, and fighting the police. The mob broke into the Capitol, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I heard that someone was shot, and later, I found out she, along with 2 others had died. 

People died because of Trump, and I have a hard time swallowing this. A president is supposed to protect his country, not insight violence against it. As a young person, I want to look up to my president, and I want to know that he can take care of my country. But, in unprecedented times with an unprecedented president, I can’t.