Trump failed our country in Capitol breach

Abigail Prichett, Assistant Growl Editor

On Wednesday afternoon, far-right rioters forced their way into the U.S. Capitol building. They smashed windows, broke down doors, stole podiums, and took photos in offices. Videos and pictures quickly circulated across social media showing senators hiding in the House chambers, anxiously watching as rioters used their workplace as a playground.

Unsurprisingly, Trump remained silent throughout the majority of the event, only to give a short, sympathetic speech in the late afternoon. The main point of the speech was, “I know how you are feeling, but you need to go home.”

Despite their overwhelming loyalty to his every word, many of his supporters ignored this statement and continued to wreak havoc at the Capitol. In the evening, he sent out a series of tweets that led to a temporary suspension of his Twitter account.

Since deleted, his most recent tweets reads: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love and in peace. Remember this day forever!”

Instead of renouncing his followers for their unjust action, he praised them and normalized their behavior. Again, this wasn’t a surprise to me, but it’s still quite disgusting nonetheless.

As the evening continued, riot police managed to clear the rioters out of the Capitol and secure the perimeter. In order to do this, the National Guard and police from neighboring Maryland and Virginia were also deployed to diffuse the situation.

In the aftermath of this event, we have learned of many details regarding the breach. Four people died, one having been shot by police and the others from medical emergencies. Two handmade explosive devices were found on the grounds surrounding the building. Despite the crowd consisting of thousands of people, only 52 arrests were made in total.

Social media is fired up with Republicans claiming the rioters were actually antifa, hence deflecting the blame from their own party. Dozens of videos show police taking selfies with rioters and letting them walk into the Capitol without a word. These videos are a stark contrast to the videos of riot police attacking peaceful protesters last summer.

Due to Trump’s terrible response to this event, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many others are calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked. This would allow Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet to decide if Trump is unfit to perform his Presidential duties for the remainder of his term.

Although Trump only has 13 days left of his term, I believe he should be held accountable for his actions. Just as Pelosi said earlier today, “any day can be a horror show for America.”

Donald Trump has made our country the laughing stock of the world and his handling of this breach is only further proof of that. At this point, knowing he’s about to be out of office, I believe he’s going to do and say whatever he wants.

It’s like when you put your two weeks in at a job you really hate, you go to work but you don’t care about the quality of the work you’re doing. The funny thing is, the entirety of Trump’s president has been like those two weeks. He has not taken anything remotely seriously, whether that be in the instance of making fun of a disabled reporter or mixing up names of separate tragedies.

What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was a national embarrassment and a disgrace. He should be ashamed of his handling of the situation, but in all honesty, he probably isn’t. At the end of the day, Trump doesn’t care about this country or the people that reside within it. As long as he has his money, an attractive wife, and his tanning spray, that’s all he’s going to care about.

Was the incident at the Capitol yesterday shameful? Yes. Was it surprising? Definitely not. Trump told them to incite violence, so they incited violence.

An image that stood out to me in Wednesday’s protests was one of a rioter tossing an American flag to the ground and replacing it with a Trump flag. This proves the point that these people do not care about our country. They only care about appeasing a man that has them so brainwashed that they will break federal laws for him. They’ll destroy federal property for him.

They’ll travel from across the country to have their hissy fits in our nation’s capitol.

Donald Trump’s presidency is a dirty stain on the history of our country. It has been a presidency that has divided our nation more than ever before. It has been filled with hatred, violence, and drama.

This breach will go down in the history books and be taught to our children. It was not just another event that takes place any old day. The last time the U.S. Capitol was breached was back in 1814 and was done so by the British. In 20 years, we’ll look back and remember it as the day the sitting president failed our country.