The idea behind Who Won the Week is to give you the opportunity to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.

This week’s recipient of Who Won the Week is, once again, the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. This week the committee held its last prime-time televised hearing until September. Did you watch it? It was a blockbuster!

The hearing focused on then-President Trump’s three-plus-hour refusal to publicly condemn the unfolding insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, to call off the violent mob, or to take any action whatsoever to stop the attempted siege. Trump did not place a single call to any of his law enforcement or national security officials or to the military as the Capitol attack was unfolding. The calls he did make during that 187 minute gap were to Republic senators who, themselves, were under siege in the Capitol building, to persuade them to stick by his delusional scheme to halt the process.

Trump didn’t want to act to call off the mob that day or to condemn the violence because they were doing exactly what he wanted and sent them to do: delay or stop the official counting and confirmation of the Electoral College vote, officially making Joe Biden the next President.

What struck me while I watched the hearing were the parallels between Nero of Rome and Trump of America.

In July of 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome for six days, destroying 70 percent of the city and leaving half its population homeless. According to a well-known expression, Nero, Rome’s decadent and unpopular emperor at the time, “fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis.

In January of 2021, a heretofore unimaginable siege upon the U.S. Capitol Building by Donald Trump’s loyal MAGA-maniacs took lives, destroyed property, and almost stopped democracy in an attempted coup triggered by none other than the president of the country. The United States’ unpopular and decadent president, went to the White House’s dining room, turned on Fox News, and figuratively fiddled while the Capitol was under attack, at his command, by rioters. He reveled in the chaos, cheered on his supporters in their insurrection attempt, and, despite the pleas of his advisors, the media, and even his children, did literally nothing to stop it. The only action Trump took was to watch TV, tweet, and call Republican senators while the nation he was supposed to lead, protect, and serve suffered. And he demonstrated that he was an ineffective leader in a time of crisis.

So who (or what) do you think won the week?

If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.