The TLDR: After a day of unprecedented chaos and violence, Trump has finally embraced the inevitable—with a concession speech that may be the most ‘normal’ of his presidency. However, the yawning divide he created between Red and Blue America remains as vast as ever. 

Biden is finally in!

Determined not to be cowed by the riots, members of Congress filed back into the Capitol building to certify the election of Joe Biden. Despite the mayhem, 147 Republicans still voted to overturn the election results, but mercifully the majority carried the day. Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn into office on January 20th. 

Amusing point to note: In the midst of this, Trump’s lawyer Rudi Giuliani accidentally called the wrong senator and left this voicemail message (which makes it very clear that Team Trump still had hopes of scuttling the vote): 

Early exit for Trump?

The counter-offensive: Soon after the vote, many people—including Democratic leaders in Congress, leading newspapers, anti-Trump conservatives, and even Republicans—called on Mike Pence to immediately remove Trump from office. For example, House Republican Adam Kinzinger:

The 25th Amendment: to the US Constitution sets out a process to remove a sitting president which works like this:

“The section allows the vice president—joined by a majority of either the president’s cabinet or a body designated by Congress with a law—to declare to the speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate that the president ‘is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office’ and immediately take over the presidency. The president can declare in writing that no disability exists and resume the office, but Congress can decide the issue with a two-thirds vote if the vice president objects.”

The great retreat: Blocked from Twitter, Trump first issued a statement promising an “orderly transition” of power—but said he would “continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.” But hours later—and back on Twitter—he put out the first, all-out concession speech acknowledging that “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20.” More importantly, Trump turned his back on his bhakts: 

“The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy. You do not represent our country, and to those who broke the law, you will pay.” 

Most shocking bit: there were zero rants and only a few lies. Watch the video here.

Point to note: This is Trump. So he can and will most likely change his mind.

Also cancelling Trump: Mark Zuckerberg who announced that Facebook will ban him from all its platforms “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete”—hence managing to sound both determined and indecisive all at the same time. Though as skeptics point out, Trump supporters are still free to use social media to wreak mayhem. Also this: ecommerce platforms like Shopify have shut down Trump merch stores.

Heckling from the sidelines: China. Other world leaders were variously “furious and also sad” (Angela Merkel) and outraged at this “disgraceful” event (Boris Johnson, Benjamin Netanyahu). PM Modi, OTOH, was “distressed” at the violence. Vladimir Putin had no comment. 

The best aam aadmi take on the siege of Washington came from Mexico courtesy Javier Luna Quintero, who shared this photo with the quip: “Well look who’s climbing walls now.” Touché!

The C-word revisited

Definitions, definitions: So was it an attempted coup or not? New York Times says it does not meet the “technical definition” because:

“Although some of the people that stormed the Capitol were armed, they do not appear to be part of any organized military or rebel organization. And while Mr. Trump encouraged his loyalists in his capacity as a leader of their movement, he did not try to call the military to their aid, or otherwise use the formal powers of the presidency to help them.”

But Paul Musgrove in Foreign Policy says this is an example of American self-delusion:

“For U.S. political scientists, coups and paramilitary political forces are axiomatically things that happen out there. Their study fits in the mainstream of comparative politics, which studies foreigners, not U.S. politics… Until Wednesday, Americanists modeled what election outcomes would be, not whether their results would matter—those questions mattered for others.”

But you can watch this brilliant (and shocking) 7-minute ITV footage of the events of the day and decide for yourself.

So who were these people?

Perhaps realising that their side might have gone too far, rightwing media has promptly blamed the violence on leftwing anti-fascist groups. But the clips and selfies shared by the mob feature known leaders of prominent far right organisations. BBC News has a good round up of the worst of the lot.

Also in the mix: A newly elected Republican member of the House—who stupidly shared a video of himself participating in the assault on his own institution. 

A ‘martyr’ to the cause: The woman who was shot and killed during the riot has now been identified as a former air force veteran named Ashli E. Babbitt. She was shot trying to enter the House Chamber. Babitt’s last video—recorded on her way to Washington—offers the best most revealing answer to the question of who ‘these people’ are: 

An Indian assist: The rioters also included at least one Indian supporter, judging by this cameo appearance of our flag.

What happened to security?

The Capitol building is protected by a 2,000-strong special police force. And they were completely unprepared for the mob violence that overwhelmed their staff. What made everyone really angry: “The Capitol Police seemed to offer little resistance and arrested only 14 people, making it much more difficult to find and charge the rioters.” 

So why was that? One explanation: They simply underestimated the challenge—which is why they refused the Pentagon’s offer to send additional National Guard troops before the vote. And for good reason, according to a veteran Capitol policeman:

“No one expected the president to say, ‘Hey guys, let’s all go down to the Capitol and show them who’s boss’… That is a completely different thing that no one’s ever planned or prepared for. How could you?”

The other explanation: The Capitol police is predominantly white and has faced employee lawsuits alleging rampant discrimination. And maybe at least some of its personnel helped the rioters enter the building—as clips like these suggest:

The bigger picture: however, is that there are different rules of policing for white folk— Joy Reid makes crystal clear in this incisive, must-watch two-minute clip:

The bottomline: is best summed up by the results of a snap survey taken soon after the day’s violence. It found that 45% of registered Republican voters approved of what occurred in Washington, compared to fewer than 5% of Democrats. Also this: 52% of  Republicans believed Joe Biden was either "a great deal" or "somewhat" to blame for Wednesday's insurgency. 

But to end on a note of hope, there is also this woman who called in to a CSpan show:

Reading list

There isn’t one today as there’s not much more to this story beyond the events and sources shared above. Just lots of knee-jerk rants and hand-wringing on all sides. We’re waiting for the more nuanced analysis that will emerge in the days to come. ICYMI, we did a blow-by-blow explainer of the siege yesterday.