United States allies and opponents watched in shock and called for peace in Washington, DC on Wednesday as a violent crowd of President Donald Trump’s supporters, believed the election had been stolen, stormed the Capitol building.
Insurgents loyal to Trump, including some from violent far-right groups, stormed through police lines and broke into the Capitol, disrupting the process of formalizing Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
When the lawlessness and chaos in Congress made headlines around the world, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: “The enemies of democracy will be thrilled to see these incredible pictures of #WashingtonDC.” He also called on Trump to finally accept his election defeat.
“Insurgent words become violent acts – on the steps of the Reichstag and now in the capital,” added Maas. “The contempt for democratic institutions is devastating.”
In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the scenes as “shameful”.
“The United States is a global democracy and it is now crucial that there is a peaceful and orderly transfer of power,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his people were “deeply concerned and saddened by the attack on democracy in the United States”.
“Violence will never be able to override the will of the people,” said Trudeau. “Democracy in the US must be upheld – and it will be.”
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who had a militant and troubled relationship with Trump due to the President’s criticism of the Security Alliance, described the violence as “shocking” – a statement that, in view of similar statements, had additional weight from him at moments greater Unrest made in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
“The result of this democratic election must be respected,” tweeted Stoltenberg.
Several other foreign officials and heads of state and government, including the President of the European Commission:
The Spanish Prime Minister:
The Australian Prime Minister:
And Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Carl Bildt, former Swedish prime minister and current chairman of the European Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted that the violence and occupation of the Capitol signaled “the pillage of democracy.”
In his message, he included a photo of a grinning man wearing a Trump hat and carrying a lectern with the seal of the House Speaker on it.
The scenes of violence were especially shocking to those for whom the US was a model of freedom and democracy.
Two Eastern European officials told BuzzFeed News that the scenes are more reminiscent of events in eastern Ukraine in 2014 when Russia-backed separatists stormed government buildings after the country’s Moscow-friendly president was overthrown. They also compared it to what happened in Kyrgyzstan in October when supporters of the opposition party occupied the parliament building after elections that were deemed to be fraudulent.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because their countries depend on US support.
One of them said that they “would never imagine this happening in the United States”.
“It’s crazy,” added the official.
Turkey, a NATO country that faced its own coup attempt in 2016, called for a calm and lawful solution. “We urge all parties in the US to exercise restraint and prudence,” the country’s State Department said in a statement. “We believe that the US will come out of this internal political crisis in a mature manner.”
The ministry also advised Turkish citizens in the US to avoid crowded areas and places where protests were taking place.
Venezuela, a frequent Trump boogeyman for the dangers of socialism, also issued a statement feigning concerns about violence in the US that the Venezuelan elections were illegal. “Venezuela condemns the political polarization and increasing violence that require reflection on the profound crisis that the United States’ political and social system currently finds itself in,” the statement said. “With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering from the same problem it has caused in other countries with its policies of aggression.”
In the meantime, foreign news agencies were reporting live on the events in the Capitol, from the British BBC to the Russian TASS to France 24 and beyond.
As dusk fell on a contested Washington, DC, Trump posted a minute-long video on Twitter urging the crowd he’d previously gotten to stand up – but not before falsely claiming he had Biden through one “Landslide in the US” defeats election. “
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