The Editorial Analysis- Threat to Democracy

Table of Contents

Threat to Democracy- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

The bipartisan Congressional committee looking into the deadly January 6, 2021, attack by a mob on the very seat of the Houses of the U.S. Congress has released its report on the violence that took place after the US Presidential election 2020.

The January 6 assault came directly on the heels of one of the most vicious election campaigns, waged by Mr. Trump and his Republican acolytes.
- It not only saw them denigrating minorities, women and the U.S.’s involvement in multilateral and regional organisations.
Targeted misinformation campaign: It was against the poll results over the fact that ballot votes and runoff elections in some U.S. States impacted the final outcome of a win for President Joe Biden.

Congressional committee has painted a clear picture of the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, even if that meant-
- he might damage the U.S. government and purposefully instigate violence to cling on to power,
- creating “a moment of maximum danger” for the foundations of American democracy.
The chairman of the committee played multiple videos of Mr. Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr; and his daughter Ivanka Trump, among others, making statements on camera that pointed towards Mr. Trump’s role in fuelling the violence that day.
The hearings made clear that Mr. Trump was responsible for several such critical acts of commission and omission, including ignoring intelligence reports that had been passed on to the White House beforehand that the protests could turn violent.
The committee found that Mr. Trump refused to intervene, for example by deploying the National Guard, as the rioting got out of control and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, unleashed organised violence after a rally near the Capitol.
- The violence resulted in some deaths, defacement of public property and an unprecedented security threat to members of Congress in the building.

US Congress committee report is ultimately toothless, because it has no constitutional path that leads to debarring him from standing for election again in 2024.
Trump looks well-placed to run for the White House and resume his antagonistic politics because-
- He survived two impeachment attempts, and
- Legal question mark hanging over the prospect of using the 14th Amendment to ban him from public office for his role in an insurrection against the U.S. government.