On this day, a group of demonstrators violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. The riots forced the congressional agenda to be interrupted for several hours; many members and staff were threatened with their personal safety and had to find a place to hide in the Capitol, and the seat of Speaker of the House Pelosi was also removed from the office by demonstrators.
In response, former U.S. Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, Carter and others have expressed condemnation.
It is reported that so far, three people have died of illness during the congressional riots on that day. Previously, a female Trump supporter was shot dead in Congress.
Although a few hours later, Congress returned to order and lawmakers continued to confirm Biden’s process of being elected president, the impact of this incident on the United States must not be underestimated.
The last time the Capitol was occupied was more than 200 years ago.
The Capitol has been a symbol of American politics since it was put into use in 1800.
The United States is a three-power split country.
Strictly speaking, in its political structure, Congress is the center of political power, which can directly represent public opinion and has more influence on the domestic politics of the United States than the president.
Elected legislators gather in the Capitol to make laws, where the president is sworn in, and the president also comes here every year to give a State of the Union address, that is, the President’s “Report on the Work of Government”.
For more than two hundred years, the U.S. Capitol was only damaged in the Anglo-American War in 1812. This is the second time in history that the Capitol has been occupied and destroyed.
Back in this violence, the root cause is that Trump does not recognize the outcome of the November 2020 presidential election.
Although local governments in charge of electoral affairs, federal courts at all levels, and the attorney general of the federal government believe that there is no large-scale fraud in the election and that Biden is the legitimate president-elect, Trump still insists that there is electoral fraud and calls on his diehard supporters to stand up and “fight” for his presidency.
For two months, Trump and a small number of Republican lawmakers have repeatedly incited his supporters to hold large-scale protests in an attempt to overthrow the election results.
Although peaceful demonstrations and protests are normal forms of political appeal in the United States, Trump is more radical, and his supporters such as Pride Boys also unmistakably indicate that violence can be used (in fact, radical forces on the left, such as Antifa, do not reject violence). Therefore, once the action begins, it will inevitably become more and more radical.
On January 6, Trump supporters held the “Save America March” in Washington. Trump attended the rally and gave a speech encouraging the demonstrators to “continue the struggle”, and his son Eric Trump called the demonstrators “patriots”.
Months of brewing and the incitement of the Trump father and son led demonstrators to rush into Congress, finally causing the “occupy Congress” incident that shocked the world.
Several senior White House officials announced their resignations after the riots in the U.S. Congress: Deeply disturbed by the violence. Our video production in The Beijing News
The political division in the United States has reached a new height.
Arguably, this incident marked the peak of Trump’s incitement ability.
Since the 2016 election, public opinion has noticed that Trump is not a regular politician, and his radical remarks and perverse behavior have worried many people about what his supporters will do if he lose the election. But that time he won the election.
In the 2020 election, this worry has resurfaced. And after four years of presidency, Trump’s influence is even greater.
People worry that if he loses the election, will he turn the tables through the Supreme Court? Will it create chaos to declare a state of emergency and drag the military in? Will he encourage his supporters to “revolt”?
However, U.S. courts rejected Trump’s lawsuit, and all the surviving former defense ministers in the United States jointly called for the military to remain neutral. Trump’s inflammatory ability can only be demonstrated by the actions of his supporters. In the end, his hardcore fans showed the destructive power of such actions to the world by hitting the Capitol.
After the incident, the overwhelming majority of political leaders, the media and public opinion in the United States, regardless of party, unanimously condemned the demonstrators who occupied the Congress in strong language. They think it is “a rebellion incited by a sitting president” and “a disgrace to the United States”.
At this time, Trump also seemed to see the consequences of not recognizing the election results and inciting supporters to “fight”, so he also seemed to shrink back.
Meanwhile, Trump called on the demonstrators to “go home peacefully” and tweeted repeatedly, “Please support congressional police and law enforcement officials, who are really on the side of our country. Keep peace!”
Nevertheless, there are still many people who demand that Trump be held accountable. Democrats even asked Vice President Pence to quickly replace Trump for more than a dozen days in office on the grounds of his incapacity to govern in accordance with the constitution.
The riots in Congress caused anger from both parties, and Pence was urged to remove Trump from office in accordance with the law. The Beijing News video.
Although Pence is likely not to do so, and Trump can continue to be president for more than ten days, the blow of this incident to the United States is historic.
Domestically, this incident marks a new height of political division in the United States. Political division is not new in the United States, but the depth of the rift and the radicality of the position are seen when the division violently hits Congress.
Before that, the tearing of the two parties and society in the United States was highlighted in various events, but it was like a “splash” in the whirlpool of history. But this time the capture of the Capitol is obviously a huge wave – highlighting the destructive energy.
In the past, although it was not uncommon for the loser to accept the U.S. presidential election, it was possible to pretend to congratulate the winner a kindly. However, this time, Trump’s “disobedience” directly evolved into an energy to aggravate the tearing, which is indeed rare for the United States.
Judging from the response of international public opinion, the image of the United States has been greatly damaged. It can even be said that this is a landmark event in the decline of the international image of the United States. Many allies said that this was a “shameful scene” and “completely unacceptable”.
A CNN reporter said that in addition to the strong condemnation of the incident by American allies, it is worth paying attention to the attitude of the Turkish government. The Turkish government issued a statement saying that in view of the chaos and violence in Washington, Turkish citizens in the area should pay attention to their personal safety and not go to the conflict area.
The reporter said that in the past, the United States issued such statements to American citizens in troubled Middle Eastern countries, but now it is a Middle Eastern country that issues such statements to its citizens in the United States.
