The once-mighty United States of America is now being openly mocked by its rivals, its adversaries and even its friends. Alan Austin reports.
IT MAY WELL take a generation for the United States to recover its reputation as a secure, functioning democracy where the rule of law is honoured and verified election outcomes are respected.
It may take longer until U.S. presidents can lead global campaigns for the world’s betterment — as most presidents since World War I have done.
Across the globe, enemies of democracy are jubilant at America’s humiliation and openly gloating over last Wednesday’s carnage in Washington. This may continue for some time.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ridiculed the USA on Friday claiming the current chaos is a “fiasco” and “God's revenge” for America’s meddling in the Middle East.
Turkish officials took delight in returning the stern lecture from President Obama five years ago. After an attempted coup in July 2016, the White House urged all parties to ‘support the democratically-elected government of Turkey, show restraint and avoid any violence or bloodshed'.
On Friday, Turkey’s President Erdogan said that the violence in "the so-called cradle of democracy” was “a disgrace for democracy”. Ouch.
Venezuela's socialist regime led by President Nicolas Maduro revelled in trolling Trump – who in 2019 tried to install opposition leader Juan Guaido as president.
Foreign affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza said of Wednesday’s violence:
'With this regrettable episode, the United States suffers from the same that it has generated in other countries with its policies of aggression ... We hope the American people can blaze a new path toward stability and social justice.'
Chairman of Russia’s parliamentary international affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachev, scoffed that last week’s riots in Washington
“showed that American democracy was limping on both legs and the United States lost the right to impose a course on other countries.”
China’s President Xi Jinping has said nothing publicly yet. For fear of laughing out loud, perhaps? But China’s English-language newspaper, the Global Times, mocked America’s humiliation:
‘America likes to present itself as a model of democracy, an example for every other country in the world to follow. Yet the spectacle of armed demonstrators, with the encouragement of the outgoing president, breaking into Capitol Hill and seeking to disrupt the confirmation of the new president, is the kind of behavior we have associated in the past with a handful of Latin American countries.’
China's Communist Youth League smirked on the Weibo social media platform that America’s violence was a 'beautiful sight'.
Former Afghan government adviser Torek Farhadi also jeered at Trump:
"Presidents who don't do much good and are unwilling to leave, we know that in Afghanistan."
Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa took the chance to smack back at Trump, who in 2019 extended trade sanctions against his developing nation:
"Yesterday´s events showed that the U.S. has no moral right to punish another nation under the guise of upholding democracy. These sanctions must end."
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is yet to comment directly, but the nation’s daily newspaper ran a Moscow-sourced analysis which presented a Russian perspective — ‘namely, vindication with a bit of gloating’.
It quoted Russia’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserting:
‘...The electoral system in the U.S. is archaic and doesn't meet modern democratic standards, creates the possibility for various violations, and the American media has become an instrument of political infighting.’
Even America’s staunch allies expressed profound dismay. France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian tweeted:
'Violence against American institutions is a serious attack on democracy. I condemn them. The will and vote of the American people must be respected.'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted:
‘Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.’
Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney was blunt:
'Shocking and deeply sad scenes in Washington DC — we must call this out for what it is: a deliberate assault on democracy by a sitting President and his supporters, attempting to overturn a free and fair election!'
Mexico’s President Obrador pointedly refused to make political capital from Trump’s disgrace, despite Trump having insulted Mexico countless times:
“We’re not going to intervene in these affairs that concern the citizens of the United States. That’s our policy.”
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was not so restrained:
“The disdain for democratic institutions is devastating ...Trump and his supporters should finally accept the decision of the American voters and stop trampling democracy.”
Last June, Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg strongly condemned Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization. She now attributes Wednesday's mayhem to him, claiming it was a “totally unacceptable attack on democracy” and asserting that:
“A heavy responsibility now rests on President Trump to put a stop to this."
Australia’s Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also openly condemned the U.S. President, tweeting that:
‘...the violent insurrection in Washington is an assault on the rule of law and democracy’ and ‘Donald Trump has encouraged this response ...’
Even Pope Francis highlighted Trump’s role in fomenting the turmoil:
"I was amazed, because they [Americans] are a people who are so disciplined in democracy. However, even mature societies can have flaws, and there are often people who take a path against the community, against democracy, and against the common good."
America’s ABC News listed comments from leaders in Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, Greece, Italy, Chile, Belgium, Scotland, the European Parliament, NATO and elsewhere.
With the USA now sidelined in shame, which nation, or nations, will emerge with enhanced global authority and influence? China? Russia? India? Germany? Britain? France?
Will repressive regimes historically held in check by the threat of punitive U.S. action – Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Turkmenistan – now be emboldened to wreak havoc on their citizens and others?
These questions are now being anxiously considered worldwide after Trump’s abject folly in urging his followers to “fight” in Washington last week.
Alan Austin’s defamation matter is nearly over. You can read the latest update here and help out by contributing to the crowd-funding campaign HERE. Alan Austin is an Independent Australia columnist and freelance journalist. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanAustin001.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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