Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV
  • Opinion
  • Columns
  • Op-Ed
  • Reader's Corner
  • Editorial

A day of shame at US Capitol

by Ali Çınar

Jan 09, 2021 - 12:05 am GMT+3
Press members work as pro-Donald Trump protesters rally at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., U.S. Jan. 6, 2021. (Reuters Photo)
Press members work as pro-Donald Trump protesters rally at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., U.S. Jan. 6, 2021. (Reuters Photo)
by Ali Çınar Jan 09, 2021 12:05 am
RECOMMENDED
Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu (L) and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry give a joint press conference in Cairo, Egypt, March 18, 2023. (AFP Photo)

Türkiye-Egypt rapprochement: Why is dialogue crucial?

TURKISH-EGYPTIAN-RELATIONS

We arrived at the U.S. Capitol building with colleagues from the press to watch the final electoral count and the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. president.

Minutes after a rally at the White House, tens of thousands of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump started to rush into the Capitol building.

These protesters had just rallied at a big public meeting, which Trump himself had attended, before coming here and showing their loyalty to Trump.

I saw families with children among the enormous crowd consisting of people of all ages, but some Trump supporters wearing military uniforms garnered most of my attention. I talked to some protesters, and they said they were ready to do anything Trump said and kept repeating that the presidential election was fraudulent.

At least 100 people from this big group later stormed the Capitol and collided with the police. This resulted in four deaths and left dozens wounded.

An Air Force veteran was shot and killed inside the building in addition to three other deaths. As we were trying to understand what was happening in the chaos, the protesters, who greatly outnumbered the police, did not hesitate to break into congressional offices and the general assembly.

Can you imagine, the most critical and secure building on U.S. soil, the Capitol building, intruded upon in conflict? We can easily say that nobody would have ever thought this was possible.

As Capitol police were not able to stop the protesters, help from the National Guard was requested, but they arrived four or five hours later.

This issue is still being debated because it is not clear if the delay was deliberately caused by the federal government.

In any case, we witnessed an embarrassing scene. Some protesters supported the intruders by staying around the Capitol building, while others peacefully left the area.

This was a day of shame for U.S. democracy. Despite the efforts of the U.S. to export democracy to many other countries, the civilian deaths at the Capitol – the heart of its democracy – and the threats against the members of the U.S. Congress were highly inappropriate.

In addition to the U.S. media, former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and many Republicans unsurprisingly deemed Trump responsible for these incidents.

Even those close to Trump have vigorously condemned the incidents. I believe that Trump's political career has been dealt a major blow by this incident, and he damaged his odds to win the 2024 presidential election.

His party has also started to turn their backs on him. But in reality, Trump will probably retain his voter base with a new political movement.

Therefore, the ideology that I call "Trumpism" will not disappear, but if Trump continues to deepen the polarization of the country, the Biden administration will certainly come down on Trump.

In the future, what happened at the Capitol could take place in other states as well. As you may recall, Trump rioters had stormed the Senate buildings in some states last year, though not in Wisconsin.

In the upcoming days, Biden has a lot to undertake once he takes over. He can put an end to this chaos, with support from the House of Representatives and the Democrat-majority Senate, and impose strict measures. The current chaos in the U.S. will also pose a huge challenge for Biden.

Whether you like him or not, the biggest loser of Jan. 6 was Trump. As these incidents were recorded in U.S. history as "the Capitol building storm," Trump, who was alleged as the main person responsible for it, has undoubtedly lost his legitimate political ground.

As of now, people from his inner circle have already started to resign. Nobody knows what Trump is planning to do until Jan. 20, but it is now a fact that we all have witnessed this shameful incident to be recorded in U.S. history.

Eyes now turn to the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20. I hope that we will not have any further chaos in the Capitol.

*Senior foreign policy expert, a 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient

RECOMMENDED
Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu (L) and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry give a joint press conference in Cairo, Egypt, March 18, 2023. (AFP Photo)

Türkiye-Egypt rapprochement: Why is dialogue crucial?

TURKISH-EGYPTIAN-RELATIONS
  • shortlink copied
  • RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    KEYWORDS
    dc protests us capitol storming washington donald trump joe biden us politics american democracy
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the conference, in Brussels, Belgium, Mar. 20, 2023. (EPA Photo)

    EU rallies int'l donors, raises $7.5B for quake-hit Türkiye, Syria

    EARTHQUAKE-IN-TÜRKİYE
    Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (R) and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias pose for a picture on the sidelines of the International Donors’ Conference in Brussels, Belgium, March 20, 2023. (AA Photo)

    Türkiye-Greece ties take off with vows for 'mutual support'

    türkiye-greece-relations

    'Sweden's steps not enough to address Türkiye's concerns'

    TÜRKIYE-SWEDEN-RELATIONS

    Erdoğan leads in possible 2nd round of Turkish elections: Survey

    Recep-Tayyip-Erdoğan
    No Image
    Smooth sailing, clear waters: Mucilage cleared from Marmara Sea
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021