Storm Front

Journalist Alexei Zabrodin on the significance of the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol for the United States and Donald Trump.

If you found yourself at the White House in Washington, D.C., you would surely notice a loud and mixed cluster of people near the fence. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, defined in the Bill of Rights by the Founding Fathers at the end of the 18th century, guaranteed Americans the right to expression for any reason they desired in almost unlimited numbers, as long as it is peaceful.

And this part of the social contract, having passed the test of time, has been respected. It happened, of course, that There were times, of course, when certain particularly concerned citizens lost their tempers, and instead of words, reached into their pockets for something more dangerous, something far from good intentions. Yet as a rule, rallies in the United States have long been a routine matter; we have even seen the emergence of professional protesters in the United States.

That is why a year ago, on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of President Donald Trump, who lost the election, did not stop at the Capitol entrance and broke into the inner sanctum of the United States, America gasped, turned fearful and duly mourned the loss, or at least the desecration, of democracy. The protest took things one step further, and political protest turned into political uprising, leaving a black mark on United States history.

Then, last year, along with burying democracy, many managed to bury Trump. Without a moment of hesitation, the Republican president’s opponents decided that the 45th president of the United States was the only one to blame for the riot and should be held responsible for America’s shaken foundation. Nevertheless, there has been little more than lamentation. Trump, of course, pumped up supporters for two months claiming the election was stolen, and on Jan. 6, he called on everyone to go to the Capitol and let Congress know that he was angry. However, he didn’t ask anyone to enter the Capitol, where Congress was certifying the election results. The former president of the United States did not concede defeat, but it was unlikely that he expected to stay in the White House by staging a coup d’état.

It was the game played by a man unaccustomed to losing, someone who, all his life, solved most problems with savvy, money and connections, things that did not help in this case; a man who simply could not publicly admit that he had fared worse than “Sleepy Joe.” But in the end, he had to back down. Now that the threat of prosecution seems to have passed, and the most serious punishment handed down in connection with the attack was a five-year prison sentence for Florida resident Robert Palmer for assaulting police, Trump again is whining about the “stolen election” to supporters and hinting at a potential run for president in 2024.

Despite many expectations to the contrary, the former president remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party. According to the latest polls, about 80% of “red” voters would like to see him run again in the next election. It is unlikely that such a scenario will please the Republican Party leadership. Trump will be 78 years old in 2024, which means the party would be supporting the nomination of an aging politician and a losing president, and that it would have to acknowledge the fact it cannot find anyone younger and less toxic. On the other hand, Joe Biden has not ruled out the possibility of running for a second term in 2024 when he will be almost 82. Compared to Biden, Trump almost looks youthful — although, watching two gray-haired gentlemen arguing for the right to make America new and relevant would be somewhat dissonant.

In any case, Trump is in his best position now to challenge Biden. Recent polls show that if voting were to take place now, Trump would outperform Biden nationwide. Moreover, according to some polls, Trump’s edge over Biden is reaching into double digits, something that the Capitol “stormtroopers” never dreamed of when Trump was president.

Yet, there are still almost three years before the 2024 election, and all these predictions are nothing more than a treat for statistical connoisseurs. Not to mention the fact that maybe America will get lucky and the Washington “swamp” will produce fresh young Republicans and Democrats, and save voters from having to listen to jokes about dementia, health and old age, something that filled more than enough of the 2020 campaign.

Until then, one thing is clear: The events of Jan. 6, 2021, made a strong impression on the United States and the world around it. Some were shocked, while others rejoiced and gloated, but essentially there was no change in the American political system. Of course, people will study and remember this day as the most vulnerable moment for American democracy. It will yield respect and myth. If he still decides to try his presidential luck again, Trump will remember these events with particular zeal. However, the fact remains that storming the Capitol failed to sink either the Republican Party or the riot’s instigator-in-chief. And after the initial explosion of public outrage, the system returned to its original state.

The whole point is apparently that on Jan. 6 last year, rioters did not storm the Capitol in the sense of staging an attempted coup, as Trump’s opponents prefer to represent the events; it was a hooligan attack by a crowd of inflamed fanatics who had no plan other than to make demands at the shrine of the U.S. political system. They went so far as to put their feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, stole a lectern and vandalized the Senate chamber. You can try to conflate the significance of those actions for the future of the United States any way you like, but the United States does not sentence people to five years in prison for an attempted coup.

These events will inevitably be remembered and cited. The image of the Capitol under attack was shocking and frightening at the same time to the entire world. However, only a year later, Jan. 6 has already become part of history, a page that the masses will turn in their minds, no matter how much the “victimized” would like it to be different.