Many thought it would end badly. But no one, not even the most daring, had ever imagined the decline of the presidency Donald Trump ait might be the darkest chapter in American democracy.
Last Wednesday, the world watched in horror as a crowd of his supporters, encouraged by the president’s incendiary rhetoric minutes earlier, the Capitol was taken by force to try to dissuade lawmakers from certifying the Democrat’s victory Joe Biden en the last elections.
There were more than four hours of chaos and anarchy that left five dead and plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis. An event described by Democrats and Republicans alike as an act of domestic terrorism bordering on insurgency.
The fact is, you don’t have to get bored.
And is not for less. The mob, mostly made up of far-right groups, destroyed doors and windows, beat police officers, entered congressional offices to steal documents and computers, desecrated monuments and they even tried to replace the US flag on Capitol Hill with one of ‘Trump 2020’.
Lawmakers, fearing for their lives, had to set up barricades to protect themselves Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated, who was also in the compound and wanted by Trumpistas who wanted him to “pay” for his opposition to their leader’s feverish plans.
According to Trump, the vice president should reject Biden’s certification, declare him a winner, and give him the keys to the White House for four more years.
The worst, if at all possible, is that even with Congress under siege and the lives of hundreds of people in danger, the president (according to the White House’s own sources) refused to allow reinforcements to be sent.
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Back in the day, they said, he seemed to enjoy the images and only started to change his mind under threat from officials and the military. In fact, it is already known that the person who ordered the recovery of the Capitol was Pence and not Trump.
In his first statements, when the situation was still critical, the president said justified the actions of his supporters and called them ‘patriots’. A term also used by his daughter Ivanka to describe the rioters who attempted a coup.
Few minutes later, asked them to leave the Capitol peacefully, but not without first saying that he “loved” them and that they were “very special people.”
While those statements were later removed from their social networks and the White House website, they were likely the ones who ultimately sealed their fate.
Trump was somehow already on the tightrope after last weekend’s scandalous phone call when he asked the Georgia secretary of state to commit fraud to declare him a winner despite his defeat being more than confirmed. and its political capital has been decimated after the debacle that Republicans suffered in the same state on Tuesday, where they largely lost control of the Senate due to their erratic behavior.
Protests in the Washington Capitol.
But his role in taking over Congress (and what he said at the time) was destroyed in less than 24 hours andthe house of cards that he has built up during his four years in office on the issue of bullying and intimidation.
When calm returned, lawmakers resumed the session, confirming Biden’s triumph with Pence at the head. And while some insisted on objecting to the results in a number of states, the tone changed completely.
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Congressmen like Lindsey Graham, who defended him tooth and nail during the presidency, suddenly turned their backs on him, denying what was already known, but reluctantly admitted: that the elections were transparent and that the allegations of fraud were unfounded.
Officials, former officials, business leaders and former presidents have been launched against Trump, who they hold directly responsible for the events.
“They told us that more than 6,000 prisoners had voted, and 15,000 minors. I asked them to show me 10 cases and none showed upGraham said. Something surprising from a lawmaker who had called the Georgia secretary of state weeks earlier to ask him to make up votes to give Trump the victory. Mitch McConnell, the president of the Senate and thus far unconditional ally of the president, classified the allegations as mere conspiracy theories without support.
In the early hours of Thursday, the president tried to calm things down by committing to an orderly transfer of power, but insisted he had won the election.
But his explanation was far from sufficient. As the hours passed, officials, former officials, business leaders and former presidents launched against Trump, who they hold directly responsible for the events. Several, including Transport Minister Elaine Chao and Education Minister Betsy DeVos, resigned in protest.
And the voices calling for his removal or resignation started to knock. The Wall Street Journal, one of the country’s most prestigious conservative media outlets, He asked him to step aside for the good of the country. And so did the Washington Post and others.
Democratic congressional leaders (backed by some Republicans) announced the filing of new charges of impeachment against the president while in government the invocation of amendment 25 was discussed of the constitution, which allows the cabinet to fire a president if more than half think he is unfit to rule.
Former Attorney General William Barr; former Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly; the former Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, and many of his most loyal servants also joined.
The attack on the Capitol, an attempt to gang up American democracy, was promoted by Trump. His use of the presidency to destroy our confidence in the elections and to poison the respect we owe our fellow citizens was made possible by quasi-political leaders whose names will live in disgrace. because of his cowardice, ”Mattis said in a violent statement denouncing the many Republicans who facilitated Trump’s behavior during this period.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the president’s preferred means of communicating with his supporters, blocked Trump from their social networks. An unprecedented punishment in the history of these companies.
According to multiple sources, the pressure reached such a point that Trump was pushed against the wall by his close circle of advisers, including his daughter Ivanka, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
According to this, If the president did not, as quickly and forcefully as possible, condemn what had happened in the Capitol, he would be immediately removed. Even more vulnerable, both he and his entire circle were exposed to the opening of a criminal trial that could send them to prison.
On Thursday night, the president released a video in which he expressed outrage at the violence against the Capitol and eventually he accepted that he had lost the election and will leave power on January 20.
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He also committed to an orderly and rapid transfer of power, distancing himself from the same supporters he had called special people hours before.
“Those who participated in these acts of violence do not represent us and those who have broken the law will pay for it”, Trump, after warning, said the time had come to heal and reconcile.
But many saw in his words a desperate attempt to save his presidency and not an admission of guilt or self-reflection. Trump agreed with those critics on Friday, stating that he has no intention of attending Biden’s inauguration.
There is no doubt that the US would be much better off if Trump steps down or leaves power. The president has chosen to spread the flames of hatred and lie to millions of voters with conspiracy theories rather than accept the reality of his own defeat, ”said Larry Hogan, Republican Governor of Maryland shortly afterwards.
The prospects of an impeachment, either through Congress or by invoking the 25th Amendment, did not seem very viable, given the few days left to his presidency (just 10). And they were seen before, as a sort of threat to avoid new outbursts from Trump in the latter part of his presidency.
But the simple fact that a second impeachment or a move orchestrated by his own cabinet is being considered makes it clear that the president will be leaving the back door.
In fact, several of his supporters think this could be the end of his political career. “Trump lost half of the Republican Party with this and I doubt many will want him as their representative in the 2024 elections.” The chaotic end of the Trump administration, said Brit Hume, the chief political analyst at Fox.
However, others think Trumpism will survive for a few more years, but not before a deep rift develops within the Republican Party., which has already begun to emerge.
What they all agree on is that this week’s embarrassing incident is a stain that can never be erased, not only from American history, but also from Trump’s highly controversial legacy.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
And Twitter: @ sergom68