Under the guise of calm, Trump’s inauguration is a warning sign for American democracy

All the former presidents still alive were present and the outgoing president gave a friendly greeting to his successor, who gave a speech on the bright future of the country and who left to the sound of a fanfare.

At first glance, President Donald Trump’s speech second inauguration It appeared to be a continuation of the country’s nearly 250-year tradition of peaceful transfers of power, essential to its democracy. And there was reason to celebrate: Asset won a free and fair election last fall, and his supporters hope he will be able to resolve problems at the border, late the war in Ukraine and control inflation.

Yet on Monday, the warning signs were clear.

Due to freezing temperatures, Trump to take an oath took place in the Capitol Rotunda, where rioters seeking to keep him in power for the last time roamed the Attack of January 6, 2021. Trump entered the space from the lobby leading to the tunnel on the west side of the building, where some of the worst hand-to-hand combat between Trump supporters and the police took place that day.

After delivering a speech in which he promised that “never again” would the government “persecute political opponents,” Trump then delivered a second impromptu speech to a crowd of supporters. The president deplored that his inauguration speech had been sanitized, declared that he would soon pardon the January 6 rioters and expressed outrage at the last minute. preventive pardons issued by the outgoing president Joe Biden to members of the congressional committee who investigated the attack.

“I had a few things to say that were extremely controversial,” Trump told the crowd in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall. It was the same space that had been filled with rows of National Guard soldiers sleeping on the hard ground for weeks following the Jan. 6 attack.

Hours later, Trump kept his campaign promise to forgive those involved in the attack — some 1,500 of his supporters, including those who had attacked police officers. This follows an extraordinary pardon granted by Biden – announced by the White House as he greeted Trump at the inaugural ceremony – to several members of Biden’s extended family. Biden’s 11th-hour pardons were a response to Trump’s continued threats of a retaliatory campaign against his political opponents.

The dizzying developments on Trump’s first day back in office suggest there will be no shortage of controversies during his second term.

“The form is normal,” Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said of Trump’s inauguration. “The substance is not.”

Hasen said the pardons granted to those who tried to violently overturn the 2020 election results were particularly disturbing.

“It is harder to imagine a greater affront to the rule of law than granting pardon to those who tried to overthrow the government,” he said.

Andy Craig, a researcher at the Institute for Human Studies at George Mason University, was dismayed that Trump benefited from all the pomp and respectful circumstances of a peaceful transition that he had tried to deny Biden. “It’s a surreal situation in many ways and I understand there are no rules to follow, but I think people are rightly frustrated with a tone-deaf ‘everything is normal’ approach.” , Craig said.

Even after regaining the highest office in the land, Trump continued to lie about his 2020 election defeat. He did not mention it in his official speech, but in his second impromptu speech, Trump falsely supported it was solely due to voter fraud and if the votes were counted accurately, he would win California, a state he lost by more than 3.2 million votes.

The celebration of the peaceful transfer of power began shortly before noon Monday with Trump and Biden in attendance. It was a stark difference from last time, when Trump was not present at the event to hand over power to Biden.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar kicked off the speeches because she chairs the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee. She said the theme was “our enduring democracy”. It was a fairly innocuous phrase, and in other circumstances it would be fairly common speech, but it had a striking implication given the context.

Klobuchar explained that “in other countries” the festivities might take place in a presidential palace, but the United States holds them in “the people’s house,” the Capitol complex. She concluded by recognizing the firefighters battling the fires in Southern California.

“The strength and courage of our democracy must match theirs,” Klobuchar said.

The day began with a reminder of the unprecedented momentum created by Trump’s return. Biden pardoned preventively Dr. Anthony Fauci, former General Mark Milley – a vocal critic of Trump who the new president has suggested should be executed – and Congress January 6 Committee the members, staff and leaders who provided them with testimonials.

Among them was former Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans to challenge Trump and who had faced criticism. targeted by prosecution by his former Republican colleagues in the United States House of Representatives. During his second speech, Trump again criticized Cheney, calling her a “crying fool.”

“These are exceptional circumstances, and in good conscience there is nothing I can do,” Biden said of his blanket pardons. “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong – and in fact did the right thing – and are ultimately exonerated, simply being investigated or prosecuted can cause irreparable harm to their reputation and finances. »

Ancient Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanonewho lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gunwas one of the officers who received a last-minute pardon from Biden because he testified before the committee on January 6.

Fanone said he learned of the pardon from a Washington Post reporter who called him Monday morning.

“I didn’t digest it,” he later told the Associated Press. “I just can’t believe this is my country.”

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Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.