US democracy is “limping on both feet,” a senior Russian lawmaker said Thursday – a day after a violent mob loyal to President Trump stormed the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to reverse the election.
Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the Russian House of Lords Foreign Affairs Committee, said the chaos unfolding in Washington, DC, showed that the US had no right to lecture other countries about democracy, Agence France-Presse reported.
“The losing party has more than enough reasons to accuse the winner of counterfeiting – it is clear that American democracy is limping at both feet,” Kosachyov wrote on Facebook.
“The celebration of democracy is over. It’s unfortunately hit rock bottom, and I’m saying this without a hint of glee, ”he added. “America is no longer setting the course and so has lost everything to chart it. And, even more so, to impose it on others. “
Russian state media showed rioters tearing down barricades and swarming the building, as security forces fired tear gas and law enforcement officers pulled in guns.
Moscow has long criticized the US for the state of Russian democracy under strongman Vladimir Putin, accusing Washington of hypocrisy and condescension.
As the Russians celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Thursday, there was no immediate response from the Kremlin or the State Department, but pro-Kremlin lawmakers jumped on the violent unrest.
“The United States certainly cannot impose electoral standards on other countries now and claims to be the world’s ‘beacon of democracy,'” Leonid Slutsky, the chief of foreign affairs in the lower house, told local news outlets.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the chaos unleashed on the Capitol revealed the fragility of Western democracy.
“What we saw yesterday (Wednesday) and today in the United States mainly shows how fragile and fragile Western democracy is,” Rouhani said in a speech from state television on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reported.
“We saw that the soil is unfortunately fertile for populism, despite advances in science and industry,” he added. “A populist has arrived and he has led his country to disaster for the past four years. I hope the whole world and the next White House residents will learn from it. “
Rouhani urged the new administration to “make the country good (for the past) and restore the country to a position worthy of the American nation, because the American nation is a great nation.”
The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars called the US a “fragmented democracy,” while pro-government Twitter accounts had fun, circulating photos of the mob with hashtags with #DownfalloftheUS.
In China, State Department spokesman Hua Chunying denounced the US for how it has described protesters in Hong Kong compared to the scenes that took place in the Capitol, Fox News reported.
“Everyone may remember how some US politicians and media described the Hong Kong riots, but take a look at their choice of words today,” she told reporters, according to the network, which quoted a translation from the state-affiliated newspaper Global Times.
“The US mainstream media has unanimously condemned today’s event, calling it violent and shameful and describing the protesters as rioters, extremists and criminals,” she added. “But remember what they said about Hong Kong rioters?”
“As you said, they called it a ‘beautiful sight to behold’, embellishing the city’s rioters as ‘heroes of democracy’ and claiming that the Americans would support them,” she said.
The Communist Youth League had a photo montage of the violence in the nation’s capital on its Twitter-like microblog Weibo with the caption, “On the sixth, the US Congress, a wonderful site to behold.”
That seemed to deride House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her comments in June 2019 in honor of the sometimes violent protests against the government in Hong Kong.
And Venezuela, which is under US sanctions, said the events in Washington show that the US is “suffering from what it has generated in other countries with its policies of aggression.”
President Nicolás Maduro has survived the opposition’s US-backed attempts to oust him, despite allegations of human rights violations, civil unrest and a humanitarian crisis that has forced millions to flee the oil-rich country.
And the top US military commander for Africa delivered a message of reassurance to his troops, saying that America, its constitution and government system remain strong despite the violent events at the Capitol.
Army General Stephen Townsend tweeted on Thursday that America “has faced much bigger and tougher challenges in the past” and Africa Command remains focused on its mission.
“The American people expect and need us to remain steadfast and keep a clear eye on our duty – and we will,” Townsend said in a statement with his senior enlisted leader, Sgt. Major Richard Thresher.
While the statement appears to be addressed to its Africa Command forces, it clearly serves as a message across Europe and Africa to America’s allies who watched in horror as armed and angry protesters took over the Capitol on Wednesday. Africa Command is based in Germany.
With pole wires
