On the afternoon of January 6th, local time, just one hour after the U.S. Congressional certification Electoral College ticket process was launched, Trump supporters rushed into the Capitol and caused riots, causing the certification process to be suspended halfway.
The riot caused an uproar of public opinion in the United States and abroad.
Trump is undoubtedly the center of this storm of public opinion.
According to CNN, Trump is considered to have “incited” the riot. According to NBC, more than 200 members of Congress have supported the removal of Trump so far.
More than 24 hours have passed since the riots in the U.S. Congress. What happened around Trump, who is at the center of the controversy?
Trump Social account blocked
According to CNN, after the riots, Trump tweeted to call on supporters to maintain “peace” and “remember that we are law and order parties”.
Trump still accused Pence of fraud in the election, and accused Pence of not having the courage to do what he should do. Subsequently, not only were these tweets deleted by social platforms, but his Twitter account was frozen for 12 hours.
Twitter said that if Trump violates the rules of the platform again, his account will be permanently banned.
According to the BBC, on January 7th local time, Facebook said it would block Trump’s account until the official end of his presidency on January 20 local time.
Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement saying that it is obvious that Trump intends to use the rest of his term to undermine the peaceful and legitimate transfer of power with President-elect Biden, and allowing Trump to publish content is too risky.
Senior government official resigns
According to Forbes magazine, after the congressional riots, many Trump administration officials have resigned.
According to CNN, Stephanie Grisham, the chief of staff of First Lady Melania, was the first official to resign after the riots.
Anna Nista, White House Social Secretary, and Sarah Matthews, Deputy Press Secretary, also resigned.
Matt Pottinger, deputy national security adviser, resigned on the afternoon of January 6 local time, according to CNN. Later that night, Mick Mulvaney, the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, also resigned.
“After the Congressional riots, I couldn’t stay,” he said in an interview with CNBC.
On January 7th local time, cabinet ministers also resigned one after another. U.S. Secretary of Transport Zhao Xiaolan first tweeted her resignation, becoming the first Secretary of the Interior to resign after the riots in Congress.
Shortly thereafter, Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, also announced her resignation. DeVos also accused Trump of inciting the riot in his resignation.
Commitment to an orderly transition
According to CNN, in the early morning of January 7th local time, in a joint session of Congress, Pence officially announced that Democratic candidate Biden had won the election.
Due to the closure of Trump’s own social account, Trump issued a statement through his adviser account, promising to transfer power with Biden in an orderly manner.
The Associated Press believes that this is the first time Trump has admitted that he lost the 2020 presidential election.
“While I “totally disagree” with the election results, it is true that “there will be an orderly handover of power on January 20 anyway,” Trump wrote. He added, “This is the end of the greatest term in the history of the President of the United States, and it is also the beginning of the struggle to make the United States great again.”
According to NBC, people around Pence revealed that Trump banned Pence’s chief of staff Mark Short from entering the West Wing of the White House just after Pence refused to reverse the election results.
Short said, “Trump banned me from entering the White House because he thought it was my suggestion to Pence”.
or be impeached twice
After the congressional riots, several members of Congress called for Trump’s removal from office to invoke the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement saying that “What happened yesterday at the Capitol was a rebellion against the United States incited by the president.
This president should not be in office for another day.”cv
The Hill noted that invoking the 25th Amendment would require a majority of cabinet officials and Vice President Pence to declare to Congress that Trump is no longer able to fulfill his presidential duties.
According to CNN, a government official said that several cabinet members have informally discussed the possibility of invoking the 25thAmendment.
However, people familiar with the matter said that Pence was “unlikely likely” to take the measure to remove Trump.
House Speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team are considering launching impeachment proceedings at a “lightning” speed if Vice President Pence and cabinet members refuse to take “unprecedented” measures to remove Trump, multiple sources have revealed.
CNN pointed out that there is a view that even after Trump leaves office, the impeachment against him will continue, because impeachment may play a greater role than removing him from removing him through amendments, which will prevent him from continuing to hold public office in the future.
may be prosecuted by the court
According to CNN, on January 7th local time, the acting prosecutor in Washington, D.C., said that federal investigators were investigating everyone involved in the congressional riots and Trump’s role in inciting crowds.
Acting Attorney Michael Sherwin said, “We are investigating everyone who initiated the operation, and anyone who played a role in this rally. If the evidence meets the requirements of the crime, they will be prosecuted.”
So far, federal prosecutors have prosecuted 15 criminal cases related to the congressional riots, and another 40 people have been indicted in the Washington, D.C. High Court, some of whom have been charged with illegal entry into certain areas of the Capitol.
Try to return to normal life
After congressional riots, personnel earthquakes and even recall impeachment crises, CNN pointed out that Trump still wants to restore his life to normal.
On January 7th local time, Trump presented golfers Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player and late player Babe Didrikson Zaharias with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In addition, Trump called the Republican National Committee to greet his Republican colleagues, without mentioning a word about the congressional riot, according to CNN.
After a homemade bomb was found outside the RNC headquarters building, Trump had to cancel the video speech originally scheduled for January 7 local time, which needed to be recorded with RNC equipment.
According to people familiar with the matter, on January 7 local time, Trump also cancelled his trip to Camp David, the presidential resort.
Twitter reopens, condemning the riot
After the Twitter lockdown ended, Trump posted a video speech in which he publicly admitted for the first time that he would not be re-elected, “the new administration will take office on January 20.” He added, “My work now is to ensure that the transfer of power is smooth, orderly and seamless.”
Trump also called for “healing and reconciliation” in the video, stressing that the United States must look forward.
CNN pointed out that Trump’s condemnation of the riots is more intense than the previous day, saying that those demonstrators have tarnished the foundations of American democracy and that “the people who engage in violence and destruction, you do not represent our country, and those who violate the law, will also pay the price”.
However, Trump did not mention his role in inciting the riot. Despite the vague wording, he still blames the election for manipulation.
A White House adviser discussed with senior officials that Trump only recorded the video because he faced the threat of being dismissed or even impeached twice.
Almost all of his senior staff are going to resign, and impeachment is imminent.
