What
happened on 06 January 2021 is not unprecedented. The US Capitol has witnessed
violence earlier too. For example, during the war between Great Britain and
USA that began in 1812, the British troops burnt down the Capitol building in
1814. Again, between 1856 and 1860 there were several violent acts during the
debate on abolishing slavery. In 1983 the self-proclaimed “Armed Resistance
Unit” exploded a bomb there in retaliation to the US military action in Granada
and Lebanon. Before that too, for different reasons by different persons, there
were explosions on Capitol premises in 1915 and 1971, and firings in 1954. And
this is not the complete list.
But
what is unique about the January 6 violence is that for the first time in US
history a sitting President has mobilized violent mobs to invade and take over
the US Capitol.
Essentially an outsider, he broke into the US
political arena when he caught the imagination of conservative Americans and
became the darling of white supremacists. He revelled in riding roughshod over
conventions, rules and regulations. He brooked no dissent. His polarising
politics and venomous demagoguery brought the world’s oldest and arguably the
greatest democracy to the brink of anarchy. If he was a rogue politician at
home, he was a rampaging bull in international affairs – making hardly any
distinction between friends and foes. He must be the only US president who managed
to alienate the time-tested allies of the USA. As if that was not enough, he
did his worst to drag the world into a nuclear confrontation with China. Thanks
to his aggressive posturing, Russia and China have now become a power bloc
which may revive a new and deadlier version of the defunct Cold War with
unforeseen consequences for the world.
Meet Donald John Trump, the 45th President
of the United States of America. He was born with a platinum spoon. His father was
a rich real estate businessman. Fourth among five siblings, Donald was brash
and inclined towards waywardness. To discipline him, his father sent him to
some of the best schools, including a military school. But he was destined to
make his mark as a disruptive powerhouse in the national and global politics.
His fortunes as a businessman see-sawed from riches to bankruptcy and back.
When he was down and out, he became
anchor of a hugely successful TV show titled “Apprentice”, earned millions and
regained his position as a real estate mogul. He owned,
managed, or licensed his name to several commercial ventures and even a
university. By the early 21st century, his Trump Organization
included about 500 companies involved in a wide range of businesses, including
hotels and resorts, residential properties, merchandise, and entertainment and
television. His business interests spread across the globe.
He entered politics not out of any ideological
conviction but for power. This becomes clear from the way he changed his
political affiliations. In 1987 he registered as a Republican. In 1999, he
switched to the Reform Party – basically a non-starter. In 2001 he became a
Democrat and in 2009 he returned to the Republican fold.
His first few years in politics were quite
unimpressive despite his multimillion-dollar advertisements proclaiming his
political views on economics and foreign policy. Nobody took him seriously.
Undeterred, he kept up his efforts to become the President of the most powerful
country in the world. In 2015, he again announced his candidature. His rival
was the redoubtable Hillary Clinton. Trump resorted to incendiary language and
played on popular fears concerning illegal immigration, offshoring of American jobs,
the U.S.
national debt,
and Islamic
terrorism.
His slogan "Make America Great Again” proved to be a clincher. However, it
must be said that his victory over Hillary Clinton was due to a technicality
that is peculiar to the American electoral system.
In 1973, the US Justice Department charged Trump
Organisation with racial discrimination as it showed distinct bias against
employing African-Americans. However, that did not in any way affect his racist
mindset. During his election campaigns, he skilfully played on the fears of
conservative Whites by resorting to xenophobic and white supremacist rants. In
fact, his rise in the US politics coincided with the growing unease among many
Americans regarding influx of foreigners into the country, loss of jobs and
consequences of the Great Meltdown of 2007 that had enduring consequences like
rising unemployment and inflation. We all know that economic crisis often
results in rise of extremism and targeting of minorities. For example, the
Czarist Russia gave way to leftist revolution and Kaiser’s Germany turned Nazi
under Hitler. Jews were at the receiving end in both the countries. A rabble-rousing
narrative of victimhood invariably accompanies such seismic transformations.
What happened on the Sixth of January should not have
surprised anybody. It looked inevitable, given Trump’s repeated defiance of the
Presidential election results. And given his hold on the white supremacists,
bigots and fanatics, one should be actually surprised that the violence did not
cause greater damage than four dead and destruction of furniture, property and
media equipment. In fact, for weeks, Trump had been whipping up mass hysteria
by projecting himself a victim of fraud in elections. The power of social media
was fully exploited for the purpose. Right-wing websites like Gab and Parler
and many others became platforms for targeting opponents of Trump. There were
clear incitements to violence against the Vice President Mike Pence and many
others in and outside the government, the senate and the congress.
Despite Donald Trump’s efforts at backtracking by
conceding defeat in the elections and disapproval of the violence it is clear
that Trump was making a desperate attempt to pressurise the Congress – which
was holding a joint session to certify Biden’s electoral college victory. His
speech at the Save America March can never be considered anything but
provocative as he exhorted his supporters to go to the Capitol to “take back
our country” and more than once declared the elections a fraud. The enraged mob
broke into the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, damaged the furniture
and indulged in violence that left several injured and at least four dead.
President Elect Biden described the violence as insurrection. Many called for
his immediate removal from the President’s office. In fact, his Vice President
Mike Pence declared that he would certify Biden’s victory as his constitutional
duty. Many members of his cabinet and other staff members resigned in protest
against the mob violence. Facing global
condemnation and domestic outrage from across the political divide, Trump
realised his game was up.
But why did Trump resort to such extreme step? Surely,
his advisors must be aware of the implications of defying the constitutional
provisions by refusing to accept the election results? Worse, the manner in
which he incited the mobs was clearly criminal in the eyes of US law. Was it
because he sincerely believed that there was a deliberate attempt to derail his
white supremacist agenda? Or was it because he was afraid that once out of office,
he and his family will face prosecution for various acts of omission and
commission? Whatever the motivations, he is now destined to face the
consequences. One of which might well be a lifelong bar on him holding a public
office. A jail term is also not ruled out by many experts.
Trump is a prototypical bully., Aggressive and crude,
he revels in browbeating others. But not brave. In fact, he could be called
cowardly. He had no qualms about risking the property, life and limbs of others
to protect his interests but backed down the moment he realised that his own
interests were imperilled.
However, his retreat has come too late. Nobody is
fooled by his “condemnation” of the Capitol Hill violence. The calls for his
immediate removal and impeachment are gathering momentum. If this materialises
the Trump would be the first ever US President to be impeached twice.
There
were also calls for invoking the 25th Amendment for his immediate
removal. This amendment lays out how a US
president and vice president may be succeeded or replaced. It came into
existence in 1967 after President John F. Kennedy was killed.
According to the Cornell Law School,
“The Watergate scandal of the 1970s saw the application of these procedures,
first when Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew as Vice President, then when he
replaced Richard Nixon as President, and then when Nelson Rockefeller filled
the resulting vacancy to become the Vice President.”
The amendment has four sections.
In
case the president refuses to declare his/her incompetence, the fourth section
of the amendment requires the vice president and the cabinet to jointly
ascertain this and if they do so, then the vice president immediately assumes
the position of acting president. It is this section that is now sought to be
invoked. Remember, this has never happened
before.
So, what lessons can we draw from this sordid episode?
First and foremost, it is dangerous for a country to
follow a demagogue. We in India have a habit of worshipping the powerful and
never learn from its disastrous results. It was Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and
80s and now it is Modi.
Politics of hate and intolerance only benefits the demagogue
and does irreparable damage to a country’s people and institutions.
It is important for the institutions to show spine
when the nation’s constitution is threatened. The US supreme Court is an
exemplar. But even political parties must act as custodians of national values,
ethos and constitution. The Republican Party failed in this regard and is
doomed to pay a heavy price in the US political arena.
Finally, we in India, need to learn that blind faith
is fatal to the national unity and health. We need to be on guard against
demagoguery, lies and deceptions. The media needs to realise that it is there
to play the role of a watchdog and not lapdog. Our constitutional and other
institutions need to show spine. They are supposed to look after the national
interests and not of politicians, bureaucrats and corporates.
Finally, a strong positive public opinion will help in
shunting out ogue and corrupt bureaucrats, politicians and political outfits
from the corridors of power. Only we can enable the rise of a new breed of
leaders who are progressive, upright, secular, liberal, humane and patriotic.
Can we do it?
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