World Stunned by Violence in U.S. Capitol, Attempts to Overturn Election
By Reuters Staff
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World leaders on Wednesday expressed shock at the violent protesters who overran the U.S. Congress and attempts to overturn the Nov. 3 presidential election results which dealt a victory to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Police in the U.S. Capitol responded with drawn guns and tear gas as hundreds of protesters stormed in and sought to force Congress to undo President Donald Trump’s election loss shortly after some of Trump’s fellow Republicans launched a last-ditch effort to throw out the results.
Here are reactions from around the world:
SWEDEN
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a tweet described the incidents as "an attack on democracy". "President Trump and many members of Congress bear significant responsibility for what’s now taking place. The democratic process of electing a president must be respected."
UNITED KINGDOM
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet described the scenes in the U.S. Congress as a "disgrace", saying the United States stood for democracy around the world and that was it was "vital" now that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.
GERMANY
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said democracy’s enemies would be cheered by scenes of violence at the United States Capitol, and he called on Trump to accept U.S. voters’ decision.
In a Tweet posted after protesters stormed the seat of the U.S. legislature, Maas said the violence had been caused by inflammatory rhetoric. "Trump and his supporters must accept the decision of American voters at last and stop trampling on democracy."
RUSSIA
"Quite Maidan-style pictures are coming from DC," Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy posted on Twitter, referring to protests in Ukraine that toppled Russian-backed President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich in 2014.
"Some of my friends ask whether someone will distribute crackers to the protesters to echo Victoria Nuland stunt," he said, citing a 2013 visit to Ukraine when then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland offered food to protesters.
NATO
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the violent protests in Washington "shocking scenes" and said the outcome of the democratic U.S. election must be respected.
SPAIN
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet: "I am following with concern the news that are coming from Capitol Hill in Washington. I trust in the strength of America’s democracy.
"The new Presidency of @JoeBiden will overcome this time of tension, uniting the American people."
CANADA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed concern about the violent scenes in Washington. "Obviously we’re concerned and we’re following the situation minute by minute," Trudeau told the News 1130 Vancouver radio station. "I think the American democratic institutions are strong, and hopefully everything will return to normal shortly."
Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Twitter: "Canada is deeply shocked by the situation in Washington DC. The peaceful transition of power is fundamental to democracy – it must continue and it will. We are following developments closely and our thoughts are with the American people."
FINLAND
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a statement: "The attack on Capitol Hill in Washington DC is a very serious and worrying matter. It shows how important it is to firmly and strongly defend democracy at all times."
TURKEY
Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement expressing concern about the violence and called for calm and common sense while urging its citizens to avoid crowds and the protest area.
FRANCE
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter: "The violence against the American institutions is a grave attack on democracy. I condemn it. The will and the vote of the American people must be respected."
EUROPEAN UNION
Charles Michel, chairman of EU leaders, on Twitter expressed his shock at the scenes in Washington. "The US Congress is a temple of democracy…We trust the US to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to @JoeBiden"
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "I believe in the strength of US institutions and democracy. Peaceful transition of power is at the core. @JoeBiden won the election. I look forward to working with him as the next President of the USA."
VENEZUELA
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted: "Venezuela expresses its concern for the violent events that are taking place in the city of Washington, USA; condemns the political polarization and hopes that the American people will open a new path toward stability and social justice."
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Michelle Nichols and Reuters bureaux; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Ann Coulter: Election’s Over. Here’s the Truth About Trump.
Now that the Georgia runoffs are over, let’s talk about Donald Trump.
When we really needed all hands on deck in Georgia, Trump was a wrecking ball. He went down to Georgia and insulted everyone, refusing to talk about anything but himself.
Based on his rally speech this week, Trump apparently thinks he won the November election because there was a red wave for everyone except him. How else could all those Republicans win congressional seats on his “coattails,” while he lost?
There are other ways to interpret the election results, such as that Trump didn’t have any “coattails.” In Texas, for example, Trump won, but Sen. John Cornyn got more votes — the first time a Texas senator has bested a Republican president in a couple of decades.
Maybe Americans are terrified of the Democrats, but also sick of Trump.
From the moment the election was over, Democrats were single-mindedly focused on winning the Georgia runoffs. By contrast, Republicans indulged in their usual circular firing squads, while Trump kept the base distracted with his petulance about the November election. (Yes, the Democrats cheated. They always cheat. Maybe somebody should have done something about it before the election.)
With Republicans facing these two crucial runoffs, Trump was too narcissistic to care about anything but his personal issues, and he busily set landmine after landmine for the candidates.
After Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue had triumphantly voted for the coronavirus relief bill, Trump began attacking it as a “disgrace” and ridiculing the paltry $600 individual payments.
Let’s see, who had negotiated this “disgrace” again? Trump’s own Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. But Trump was too busy denouncing the November election to pay attention to the negotiations.
For a week, Trump pretended he wasn’t going to sign the bill. In the end, he signed it, but waited so long to do so that instead of Georgia voters receiving their checks days before the runoff, they’ll be getting their checks sometime later this week.
Fantastic.
Then Trump launched vicious attacks on the (admittedly ridiculous) Georgia governor and secretary of state, blaming them for his loss in the state. Republicans needed every vote in this election, and surely there are some Georgians who prefer those guys to Trump. But Trump forced Loeffler and Perdue to choose between him and their own elected Republican leaders.
It also didn’t help that we’re in the middle of another COVID surge. You can’t blame Trump for the coronavirus, a gift from China to the entire world. Trump did better than most world leaders, especially with Operation Warp Speed.
The usual problem with Trump is that he’s all talk, no action. He talked about the massive fraud that would ensue with mail-in ballots … but did nothing. He talked about “LAW & ORDER” as cities burned to the ground … but did nothing. He talked about the wall … but built only about a dozen miles of it.
With COVID, it was the reverse. Trump did the right things, but wouldn’t shut up. Worst of all, he talked to Bob Woodward.
To Woodward: I could curl your toes with some of the stories about this virus! See, I get these briefings every morning …
An hour later to the public: It’s gonna be great. This will be over by Easter.
That’s not a strong leader rallying the country. It’s a con artist telling you to put all your money on a stock that’s about to tank. Worst of all, it shows you who he is that Trump so desperately wanted Woodward to like him and was stupid enough to think he could win him over.
For all that, Trump had it all! He won the presidency by running on wildly popular issues that no other candidate would touch. He had devoted followers. For the first two years of his presidency, he had a Republican House and Senate.
Oh grief that Earth’s best hopes rest all with Thee!
Trump could have been a massively popular president and won reelection comfortably, if only he’d kept faith with his voters. Even people who abhorred him would have had to say, I thought he was a coarse vulgarian, but he was right about China ripping us off, he was right about the border, and he was right about standing up to crazy woke culture.
The 2020 election should have been like Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection (49-state landslide). Like Trump, Reagan ran on popular issues left on the ground by other candidates — primarily his vow to destroy the Soviet Union and reignite the economy by slashing government.
But — and here’s the big difference — Reagan kept his promises.
Not Trump! Instead — in the greatest bait-and-switch in American history — he promptly turned his presidency over to nimrods Jared and Ivanka, while he watched TV and tweeted. Suddenly, the populist hero was replaced with two idiots, who were all about being friends with the Kardashians and sucking up to Goldman Sachs.
Why don’t we have a wall? Why didn’t Trump impose a tax on remittances to make Mexico pay for it? Why are American workers still training their cheap labor replacements?
Answer: Stephen Miller, Trump’s crucial immigration aide during the 2016 campaign, survived his first year in the White House only by convincing Ivanka he was working on “Women’s Issues.” He spent his remaining three years with his nose up Jared’s butt.
We knew about the hucksterism. There was no warning about the kids.
The Republican Party’s only hope is to become a populist party, but without a shallow, narcissistic ignoramus as its head.
What is the point of being slavishly loyal to a person who is loyal to no one (except his numbskull kids)? Trump has sold out everyone who was ever faithful to him — Jeff Sessions, Kris Kobach, Chris Christie, Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, and, of course, his own voters.
Half of the betrayed are still desperately seeking Trump’s favor by signing onto the futile “Stop the Steal” effort. Not good enough for the administration! But good enough to humiliate themselves in Trump’s final days in office. At the first Stop the Steal rally in Washington, Trump didn’t even show up. He went golfing.
Give up the cult of personality, Trumpsters, or at least find someone with a better personality.
CNN’s Tapper: Trump, Hawley, Cruz ‘Unleashed’ the ‘Definition of Sedition’ – We Are Watching Attempted ‘Bloodless Coup’
CNN anchor Jake Tapper reacted to the unfolding chaos at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday when protesters breached the barricades and stormed the Capitol Building.
Tapper said that President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are unleashing “sedition.”
Tapper said, “The definition of sedition is to try to overturn the rule of law through force, and that is what we are witnessing. Trump supporters, who have been lied to by Trump and his minions, individuals like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, lied to by MAGA media, have been incensed and outraged and they are now resorting to physically trying to storm the Capitol to stop the constitutional process of electors being counted for the person who won the election, Joe Biden, the president-elect. That is what’s going on. That is what we are witnessing. And there are a lot of people who are complicit in this. It will not succeed. Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20, but at some point, you have to ask yourself if you’re Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz or Matt Gaetz or either of the Murdochs, you have to ask yourself, what am I doing? What am I creating here? What have I unleashed? This is the United States of America and we’re watching protesters try to undermine the course of an election, a constitutional process, through force, by storming the United States Capitol?”
He added, “We are watching an attempt at sedition. We are watching an attempt at a bloodless coup in the United States, Trump supporters, stopping the constitutional process, the counting of electors.”
Follow Pam Key On Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Photos: Thousands of Protesters Storm Capitol Hill to Protest the 2020 Election
Protesters stormed Capitol Hill Wednesday to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Joint Session of Congress to certify the electoral results.
Photographers captured the pandemonium in the House and Senate chambers as protesters swarmed into the building and clashed with Capitol Hill police.Photos: Trump Supporters Storm Capitol Hill to Protest the Election
U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back protesters outside the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, January 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
TOPSHOT – Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN / AFP) (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building during demonstrations in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building during demonstrations in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Protesters interact with Capitol Police inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Capitol Hill police drew guns in the House chamber to keep protesters at bay as reports noted that shots were fired.
U.S. Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Images also showed clouds of smoke within the building.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol as tear gas fills the corridor on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by Saul LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
A police officer has eyes flushed with water after a confrontation with demonstrators, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Other images showed Trump supporters sitting in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
A supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protests inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters enter the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2021, in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump enter the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back protesters outside the east doors to the House side of the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building after mass demonstrations in the nation’s capital during a joint session Congress to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. – Thousands of Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, flooded the nation’s capital protesting the expected certification of Joe Biden’s White House victory by the US Congress. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Police gather near tear gas as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, near the Ohio Clock. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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