Thousands of pro-Trump protesters invaded Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, throwing into confusion the session of Congress that was to confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 presidential election. Last night we witnessed an attempted coup against the United States of America that resulted in 4 deaths.
His supporters stormed the terraces of the capitol and caused the evacuation of the Congress buildings, shortly after Vice President Mike Pence expressed his support for the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Before the debates became confused, Pence had begun presiding over the joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate to formalize the vote of 306 electors in favour of Joe Biden against 232 for Donald Trump. The outgoing president, who refuses to concede defeat, had called on his supporters to march to Washington on the sidelines of this protocol session.
In reaction, Facebook and Twitter are blocking the accounts of outgoing President Donald Trump. The social network Twitter even threatens for the first time to block his access permanently. Facebook has taken a similar action, announcing that it will temporarily block Donald Trump’s access to its social network for 24 hours.
Such an insurrection would clearly presage the premature end of President Trump’s term. The chaos created by the Capitol invasion and the inflammatory statements of the 45th President of the United States prompted a number of Democratic and Republican elected officials to hold an emergency meeting in a secret location to consider the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allows the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the President “unfit” to hold office.
Donald Trump’s inability to act in the best interests of the country was at the heart of the debates. Democrat Elizabeth Warren was one of the first to step up to the plate, fearing that the billionaire’s last days in the White House would be marked by a succession of slip-ups, violations of laws, refusal to act for the common good and negative decisions for the image of the United States.
The 25th Amendment allows the head of state to be removed from office, temporarily or permanently, voluntarily or involuntarily, when the situation is deemed necessary, and in extraordinary circumstances. The Constitution contemplates several scenarios: if the president resigns, is incapacitated or disabled.
