Capitol Invasion Reveals the Collapse of American Democracy

Jan. 6 (local time) will be recorded in history as a day when American democracy collapsed. U.S. President Donald Trump’s supporters used violence to overrun a joint session that was held between the Senate and House of Representatives, to finalize recognition of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. This unprecedented incident laid bare a crisis of American democracy.

Trump bears responsibility for this violence. He gathered tens of thousands of supporters in front of Washington, D.C.’s Capitol building and incited them: “Let the weak ones get out. This is a time for strength.” Following this instigation, several hundred agitated Trump supporters broke into the building. They invaded the building by climbing over the outer wall or by breaking the glass windows; once inside, they occupied the Senate meeting room and sat in the chair in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Four people died, including a woman who died after being shot by police while tearing down the barricade to break into the building, and numerous police and protestors were injured. In an instant, the assembly, which was to be the final step in the legal process to certify the winner of the presidential election, transformed into chaos; scenes of the ensuing American bedlam were, needless to say, faithfully transmitted all over the world.

Biden urged Trump to immediately bring an end to the situation, declaring, “It’s not protest. It’s insurrection,” but Trump was unwavering in his refusal to take responsibility, limiting his response to saying, in a video posted on Twitter, “We had an election that was stolen from us … But you have to go home now.” Notwithstanding the four hours of violence, at the reconvened joint session, a significant number of Republican representatives moved to reject certification of the election.

This violent incident reveals that America, the self-proclaimed “leader of democracy,” is afflicted with a grave illness. As 21% of American voters still believe that the presidential election results were fabricated, there is the worry that such incidents could break out again at any time. The events at the Capitol serve as a cautionary lesson in how a severe crisis can transpire when politics is unable to address increasingly worsening wealth inequality, failing to give hope to economically and socially marginalized people. A ferocious base that blindly accepts Trump-style divisive and clannish politics easily develops in the vulnerable environment that this failure produces.

Criticism of Trump’s responsibility for the events, headed by former U.S. presidents, is spreading through the political sphere. Representatives from countries around the world have also expressed shock and worry. The world is questioning whether America will be able to overcome the extreme surge in hate politics. Hopefully, Biden, entering office on Jan. 20, will exhibit the leadership needed to bring order to this chaos.