Trump’s failed coup
It was only a matter of time. US President Donald Trump finally went off the deep end into true autocratic territory, sending his goons to attack the US Capitol in reprisal for his election defeat and the refusal of several of his party members to subvert the constitution to keep him in power.
Trump, at an outdoor rally in Georgia a day ago, declared he would “fight like hell” to hold on to the presidency. This was enough a message for his supporters in Washington DC. And as the joint session of Congress was being held on Wednesday for the simple task of formally acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden’s win, hundreds of delusional Trump supporters attacked the legislature over their claims of rigged election, disproven several times by courts and election officials.
The gravest assault on the symbol of American democracy in more than 200 years resulted in four people losing their lives as the rioters forced their way past security barricades, scaled walls and broke window panes to force their way into the Capitol — only to be controlled by the police in more than three hours.
The attack, egged on by President Trump and his confidantes, is being called an act of domestic terrorism by several American politicians and pundits, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Even after the violence had gotten out of hand and Trump called for his supporters to stop and go home, he repeated his lies about the election, failed to unequivocally condemn the violence, and appeared to shamelessly sympathise with the attackers.
Also notable is the fact that the National Guard was reportedly only deployed after approval was granted by Vice President Mike Pence — and not President Trump. Considering that the Vice President doesn’t have the power to order deployment, rumours began that Trump was being sidelined in an effort to restore order. But maybe that is also because even Pence wasn’t willing to go along with Trump’s deadly farce, warning that rioters would be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.
But Trump is not the only one responsible for America’s descent into failed coup territory. That honour is shared with dozens of enablers in both houses. When protesters began trying to breach the Senate chamber, Senator Mitt Romney, one of the few Republicans known to stand up to Trump, was seen telling Trumpist Republicans, “This is what you’ve gotten, guys.” Later, he directly referred to the attack as an insurrection.
Yet when the dust settled, Trumpists continued trying to portray Trump as a victim, and the riots he instigated as a false-flag operation by his opponents. And people still clapped. Trump too — after a whole day of chaos and destruction on Capitol Hill that halted business in Congress for more than six hours — acknowledged defeat in the November 3 election, for the first time. While the outgoing president did promise an orderly transition of power on January 20, he has warned: “While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2021.
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