Violence never wins. Freedom wins. Let’s get back to work ». With those words, which will be remembered throughout history, the vice president, Mike Pence, resumed on Wednesday night the session in Congress that hours before had been interrupted by the assault of a “mob” of extremists enraged by Donald Trump. The extraordinary meeting, which lasted until dawn and will continue today, concluded the mission for which the legislators had been summoned: to certify the triumph of Joe Biden as president-elect.
Immediately, Donald Trump made a statement public through the Twitter page of his spokesman Dan Scavino after his account on the social network was censored. “Although I totally disagree with the outcome of the elections, and the facts support me, there will be an orderly transition on January 20”, got engaged. Almost 24 hours later came his sentence for the assault, although at no time did he assume any responsibility for the riots, despite the fact that he himself summoned the protesters from the most extreme right wing of the Republican Party, nor did he explicitly acknowledge Biden’s triumph. Now, he reiterates that “the fight to guarantee that only legal votes are counted will continue.” And he insists that he will return: “This represents the end of the best first presidential term in history”and “it’s just the beginning of the fight to make America great again.”
Trump already acknowledges his defeat. However, the still president of the United States has announced through a tweet that he will not attend the investiture ceremony of his successor, Joe Biden. “To all who have asked me, I will not go to the swearing-in on January 20,” he wrote.
A formality
The Senate and the House of Representatives validated the victory of the Democrat in the last elections of November 3, with 306 electoral votes, compared to 232 for the outgoing president. It was a mere formality, a procedure that would have gone practically unnoticed had it not been for the attack on the Capitol that cost four people their lives, left fifty detainees and forced the evacuation of both Chambers amid images of chaos and vandalism that they were described by Biden himself as “insurrection.”
The vote in Congress, this time, went smoothly. But the consternation and fear over what had happened could still be seen on the faces of the legislators. The gruesome scenes that shook one of the greatest symbols of American democracy made Republican parliamentarians change their minds who, encouraged by Trump, had raised objections to the result of the elections. One of the most symbolic voices was that of the senator Kelly Loeffer, who last night lost her seat in the decisive Georgia elections that have given Democrats control of both Houses.
“The events that took place forced me to reconsider. And I can’t in good faith object to certification, ”Loeffler said. Like her, the Republican caucus left Trump practically alone in his latest attempt to reverse his electoral defeat. Only six senators voted not to acknowledge the results, including Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Elaine Marshall, John Kennedy and Tommy Tuberville. The move, however, was rejected by Pence, despite pressure from the outgoing president, whom he had quietly obeyed so far during these four years in office.
Trump announced in a laconic tweet on Friday that he will not attend the inauguration ceremony of his successor, Joe Biden.
“To all who have asked me, I will not go to the swearing-in on January 20,” he wrote.
“The voters, the courts … have spoken”
“The final vote totals are considered a sufficient statement of the people elected as president and vice president of the United States,” declared the ‘number two’ of the Government. Meanwhile, his words were equally endorsed by the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, closely aligned with Trump throughout his presidency. Voters, courts and states have spoken. If we invalidate them, our republic will be damaged forever. “ he said shortly before calling the Capitol raiders “unhinged” that it hadn’t been stormed since 1814, when the British burned it down during the War of 1812.
Even more forceful, Senator Mitt Romney and former Republican candidate for the White House, described what happened as an “insurrection incited by the president of the United States”, whose political future has been seriously damaged and around which the voices are growing that demand that he be brought to justice for inciting disorder. And all this despite the fact that this Thursday he tried to breathe tranquility by ensuring that “there will be an orderly transition on January 20”, the date on which Biden will take office.
With the Electoral College certification and the excellent results achieved in Georgia, the Democratic leader is walking steadily towards the presidency. The two seats won in that state by Democrat Raphael Warnock – who will be the first black senator to represent that traditionally conservative region – and Jon Ossoff – who at 33 will be the youngest legislator in the history of his party – assure Biden the majority in the Upper House. Not surprisingly, although they have 50 seats, the same as the Republicans, the Constitution stipulates that future Vice President Kamala Harris will be able to tie the tie.
Control over the Senate gives Biden full legislative powers since the Democrats, in addition to the White House, also dominate the House of Representatives. Such a situation had not been experienced since the first two years of the presidency of Barack Obama. The way seems clear for the Democratic leader, who emerges strengthened from an “unprecedented” political crisis and will now have the difficult task of closing the wounds and “Restore the soul” of a divided country after four years of Trump’s rule.
.
