Many thought it would end badly. But no one, not even the most daring, ever imagined that the decline of the presidency Donald Trump Ait would become perhaps the darkest chapter in American democracy.
On Wednesday, people watched in horror as a crowd of his supporters, encouraged by the president’s inflammatory rhetoric a few minutes earlier, The chapter was taken by force to try to stop parliamentarians from certifying the Democrat’s victory Joe Biden eIn the last election.
It was more than four hours of chaos and anarchy that left five dead, and the country plunged into an unprecedented political crisis. An event that has been described by both Democrats and Republicans as an act of internal terrorism bordering on insurrection.
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And it’s not for less. The crowd, mostly made up of far-right groups, destroyed doors and windows, beat police officers, broke into congressional offices to steal documents and computers, desecrated monuments. and they even tried to replace the American flag flying on Capitol Hill with one of “Trump 2020”.
Parliamentarians, fearing for their lives, had to set up barricades to protect themselves Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated, who was also in the complex and was wanted by Trumpistas who wanted to make him “pay” because he opposed the feverish drawings of their leader.
According to Trump, the vice president was to reject Biden’s certification, declare him the winner and give him the keys to the White House for another four years.
The worst thing, if possible, is that, even with the besieged Congress and the lives of hundreds of people in danger, the president (according to White House sources) refused to allow reinforcements to be sent.
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Before, they said, he seemed to enjoy the images and began to change his mind only under the threat of officials and the army. In fact, it is already known that the person who gave the order to recover the Capitol was Pence and not Trump.
In his first statements, when the situation was still critical, the president justified the actions of his supporters and called them “patriots.” A term also used by his daughter Ivanka to describe the riots that attempted a coup.
A few minutes later, asked them to leave the Chapter in a peaceful manner, but not without first saying that he “loved” them and that they were “very special people.”
Although those statements were later removed from their social networks and the White House website, they were probably the ones who came to seal their fate.
Trump, in a way, was already on the ropes after last weekend’s scandalous call, when he asked the Georgian secretary of state to commit fraud to declare him the winner, despite the fact that his defeat had already been more than confirmed and their political capital was decimated after the dismemberment suffered by Republicans on Tuesday in the same state, where they lost control of the Senate largely due to their irregular behavior.
Protests in the Washington Chapter.
But his role in taking over Congress (and what he said at the time) was destroyed in less than 24 hours.the house of books he built at the time of the aggression and intimidation during his four-year term.
Once calm returned, lawmakers resumed the session and certified Biden’s triumph with Pence at the helm. And while some have insisted on opposing the results in a few states, the tone has changed completely.
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Congressmen like Lindsey Graham, who defended his teeth and nails throughout the presidency, abruptly turned their backs on him and denied what was already known, but were reluctant to admit: that the elections were transparent and the allegations of fraud were without merit.
Officials, former officials, business leaders and former presidents have been launched against Trump, whom he considers directly responsible for the events.
“They told us that over 6,000 prisoners voted, that 15,000 minors voted. I asked them to show me 10 cases and none came upGraham said. Something surprising came from a lawmaker who weeks earlier had called on Georgia’s secretary of state to ask him to fabricate votes to give Trump victory. Mitch McConnell, the president of the Senate and hitherto 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 engaging in an orderly transition of power, but insisting he won the election.
But his statement was far from enough. As the hours passed, officials, former officials, business leaders and former presidents launched themselves against Trump, who is directly responsible for the events. Several, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, resigned in protest.
And the voices calling for his removal or resignation began to gather. The Wall Street Journal, one of the most prestigious conservative media in the country, He asked her to step aside for the good of the country. So is the Washington Post and others.
Democratic congressional leaders (backed by some Republicans) have announced new charges of dismissal against the president while in office. the invocation of amendment 25 was discussed of the Constitution, which allows the cabinet to dismiss a president if more than half consider it unfit to govern.
Former Attorney General William Barr; former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly; The former Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, and many of his most loyal servants also joined.
“The assault on the Chapter, an effort to subjugate American democracy by a mob, was promoted by Trump. His use of the presidency to destroy our confidence in the elections and to poison the respect we owe to our fellow citizens has been facilitated by quasi-political leaders whose names will live on in infamy. for his cowardice, ”Mattis said in a violent statement that exposed many Republicans who have facilitated Trump’s conduct throughout this period.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the president’s favorite means of communicating with his supporters, blocked Trump from their social networks. An unprecedented punishment in the history of these companies.
According to several sources, the pressure reached such a point that Trump was put on the wall by his closest circle of advisers, including his daughter Ivanka, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and chief of staff Mark Meadows.
According to them, If the President had not denounced as soon as possible and in strong terms what had happened in the Chapter, he would have removed it without delay. Even more delicately, both he and his entire circle were exposed to the opening of a criminal case that could send them to prison.
On Thursday night, the president released a video in which he declared himself outraged by the violence against the Chapter and he finally accepted that he lost the election and will leave power on January 20th.
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He also engaged in a smooth and orderly transition of power and distanced himself even from the supporters he had called special people hours before.
“Those who participated in these acts of violence do not represent us and those who violated the law will pay for it,” Trump said after the warning that the time had come to heal and reconcile.
But many saw in his words a desperate attempt to save his presidency and not an acknowledgment of guilt or self-reflection. Trump himself agreed with those critics on Friday, saying he did not intend to attend Biden’s inauguration.
“There is no doubt that the United States would be much better off if Trump resigns or is removed from 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, Maryland’s Republican governor, shortly thereafter.
The prospect of being indicted, either by Congress or by invoking the 25th Amendment, did not seem very viable, given the few days left until his presidency (only 10). And they were seen, rather, as a kind of threat to avoid new outbursts from Trump in the final stages of his presidency.
But the mere fact that a second dismissal or removal orchestrated by his own cabinet is being considered clearly shows that the president will step out the back door.
Many of his supporters actually believe that this could be the end of his political career. “Trump, with this, lost half of the Republican Party and I doubt many will want him as their representative in the 2024 election.” The chaotic end of the Trump administration, said Brit Hume, Fox’s chief political analyst.
However, others believe that Trumpism will survive for a few more years, but not before it causes a deep rift within the Republican Party., which has already begun to appear.
What we all agree on is that this week’s embarrassing incident is a stain that can never be erased, not only from American history, but from Trump’s highly controversial legacy.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
Correspondent THE TIME
Washington
On Twitter: @ sergom68