Mike Pence
"I doubt it's a happy new year for U.S lawmakers as Capitol Hill burns."
The season Finale of the Trump regime is exactly what one would have expected. All of Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election have failed. Trump ordered his vice-president Mike Pence to "do the right thing" citing that, Pence had the power to in effect reverse the election result. However, his command fell on deaf ears.
What the world saw last night, as white people safely storm the U.S Capitol is evidence that American policing was never created to hold white people accountable. If a black American peacefully protests against racial injustice, he or she gets shot with rubber bullets and arrested, but if a white nationalist storms the Capitol building over a considerable debunked conspiracy theory, nothing happens to them; unbelievable hypocrisy.
Over the years, black Americans have been known for protesting against bad governance, racism and captured institutions. This time around, a white-dominated Republican party has lost confidence in their democracy and institutions and their faith in the ballot has collapsed. Nearly seven in 10 Republicans say the 2020 election was not free and fair.
The joint session at Capitol Hill led by Mike Pence today confirmed that Joe Biden won the U.S election with 306 votes against Donald Trump's 232 votes. A number of Republicans from both the U.S Senate and the House of Representatives challenged the certification of a handful of states in a last-minute attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory, this also failed.
Mike Pence did the right thing, so did Twitter, Facebook and YouTube who locked Trump's accounts. Yes, freedom of speech is absolute in a democratic America but there is a difference between free speech and hate speech. President Trump has not denounced the protests, in fact, Trump posted a video inciting violence and rejecting the election outcome.
Trump's actions are embarrassing. A sitting president inciting violence and terrorism, surely he shouldn't just be removed from Twitter, he should be removed from office and charged. Leaders around the world condemned the attempt to overturn the election result and called on American lawmakers to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment or simply impeach the president.
Apart from politics, history also has a tendency of repeating itself, especially in the USA. Let's say according to Mike's political life plan, when he hits 77, he will run for presidency just like Joe. Assuming Pence runs for presidency in the foreseeable future, he would remind Americans of how he respected his oath of office, did an honourable thing and chose America over Trump and did the right thing by protecting the will of the people and upholding the constitution of the United States of America.
The Trump-Pence saga reminds me of what I often say;
"there are no permanent friends neither do you find permanent enemies in the game of politics, instead players have permanent interests, plain and simple. "
Once again, the American people are the curtain raisers of 2021. They gave the world something to talk about early last year with the George Floyd protests. This time around, just six days into the new year, they disrupt a democratic process in Washington DC and make headlines around the world.
"The U.S cannot continue as a member of the United Nations Security Council, the country has drastically failed to ensure security in her own backyard."
Donald Trump has moved America from a paragon of democracy to a democratic laughing stock, especially to global south countries that are expected to look up to them with authority. The failed coup d'état is a joke and even after Biden's inauguration, a large proportion of the country will continue to question his legitimacy.
Anyways, the story for the Biden family is way different: it's all joy and jubilation. The first family-elect has probably started packing their suitcases and getting ready to occupy the White House come next of next week Wednesday.
Congratulations Joe & Kamala.
