And he still has 13 days left

As the world battles the deadly third wave of the pandemic and an abnormal Epiphany day ended among us, we were surprised by news coming out of Washington of an assault on the Capitol, the heart of democracy, where Republicans and Democrats were meeting in a joint session to certify the results of the Electoral College and confirm the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. to the presidency of the United States. A mob, because that is what it was, of Donald Trump supporters smashed doors and windows, entered the building and interrupted the session and I thought I was seeing scenes more typical of Belarus or Ukraine than of the United States, on what was undoubtedly a very sad day for their democracy and their image in the eyes of the world. I can imagine the satisfaction with which Moscow and Beijing have followed what has happened in Washington because it seems to confirm their thesis that democracies are in crisis and it is authoritarian systems such as those both countries represent that will dominate the future. It was not a simple protest but what happened "borders on sedition", as an irritated Biden said. Republican Senator Mitt Romney used the word "insurrection". "A moment of great dishonour and shame" for our country, Obama said.

The mob that walked through the Rotunda where the statue of our Juniper Serra is located, which occupied the Senate and the legislators' offices, which stole objects and took possession of the gigantic building for a time, had been sent by Trump himself and forced a hasty evacuation of Vice President Mike Pence himself, who was presiding over the session, and who had been the subject of presidential ire all day because he did not comply with their demand to reject the state recounts in order to give him the victory he had failed to achieve at the polls. For Trump Pence, he had become a traitor, like all those who have started to defect from the White House today, horrified by the insanity of a man who does not seem to distinguish between his lies and reality.

Because Trump's followers who have stormed the Capitol are precisely those who have believed his lies and are convinced (perhaps like the President himself) that they have been robbed of the election, that they have accepted the conspiracy theories that the still-occupying White House has sold them and that groups like QAnon have then taken care of disseminating. One of the assailants said angrily that the Capitol was the home of the American people and that they were there to prevent a group of corrupt politicians from stealing the presidency from them. It was not in vain that Trump had called them "great patriots" while calling their political opponents "enemies of the people". In other words, the assailants considered themselves patriots who defend the democracy that others want to usurp. Of this painful situation, which has caused four deaths, there is only one responsible who is called Donald Trump because it was him who sent the people to the Capitol, it was him who has refused to condemn their violence and until today he still insists that he has won the elections and that the country is facing a huge electoral fraud.

The problem is that this time Trump has gone too far. Republicans such as Vice-President Pence and Senate leader Mitch MacConnell have taken a much more dignified and democratic attitude by putting the people's will and democracy itself above the dreams of a president who is narcissistic and has very worrying traits of paranoia. Because it seems to me increasingly likely that Trump is genuinely convinced that he has won and been robbed of the presidency. Others must think the same way because there is an idea circulating in Washington, still very informal and incipient, of removing him from power by applying the provisions of the 25th Amendment that allow a president to be incapacitated if the vice president and more than half of the government or the vice president and a large number of legislators so decide. Congresswoman Ihan Omar, D-Minnesota, is screaming for impeachment in the House. Because Trump still has 13 days left in the presidency and there are many breaks that a deranged individual, as he seems to be, could make during this period of time.

The current state of affairs is reflected in Twitter's decision to close his account for twelve hours, which must have made him frantic, while Facebook has withdrawn its statements from yesterday denouncing electoral theft that it has not proved and that no one else has seen. White House sources report that he has locked himself in with a declining number of followers. He must be like a caged lion... and angry.

Another serious question raised by yesterday's events concerns the huge security breach that occurred when the Trumpeter mob was allowed to storm the Capitol. Because days ago Trump had summoned them to Washington in what he called the "March to Save America" and that very morning had incited them to address the Capitol. There were many of them and they were very irritated. How was it that they were allowed to arrive? The issue is of concern in view of the fact that Joe Biden's inauguration is on the 20th, despite recent statements by Trump accepting a peaceful transition.

Be that as it may, what has happened is an embarrassment to the United States, a day that will blush to recall and forever stain the memory of a populist who should never have become president of the United States and has tarnished it with his behaviour. Another question is why he has reached it and this should make Biden reflect on the need to heal the deep wounds that American society is displaying caused by the virus, racial injustices and growing inequalities that are at the very root of the populism that has elevated Donald Trump to a position far beyond his capabilities.

Now it is no longer enough for Trump to hand over power when it belongs to him because I believe that he should also respond as the instigator of yesterday's riots in which, it is no joke, four people died, people were injured and the seat of popular sovereignty of a great country was irremediably sullied, casting great shadows on the ability for future civilised coexistence in the biggest democracy on the planet.