COMMENT | The American 'course correction'
COMMENT | On Jan 20, 2021, Joe Biden took office as the 46th President of the United States of America, witnessed by the whole world.
To many around the world, it would be back to the White House that we are familiar with. The America that is full of contradictions; that has a flawed foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, and that has no qualms with launching military strikes on foreign soil. The America we know, for better or for worse, is back, warts and all.
But it is not quite the same America. The United States is anything but united. The inauguration of Joe Biden and his running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, came at the back of Congress' storming by supporters of Donald Trump, in a security breach unlike that the country has seen before.
Thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Washington DC and moved on to the United States Capitol building where a joint session of Congress was beginning the Electoral College vote count to formalise Joe Biden's victory. The ensuing violence resulted in five deaths, injuries and property damage.
Trump supporters are convinced...
COMMENT | On Jan 20, 2021, Joe Biden took office as the 46th President of the United States of America, witnessed by the whole world.
To many around the world, it would be back to the White House that we are familiar with. The America that is full of contradictions; that has a flawed foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, and that has no qualms with launching military strikes on foreign soil. The America we know, for better or for worse, is back, warts and all.
But it is not quite the same America. The United States is anything but united. The inauguration of Joe Biden and his running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, came at the back of Congress' storming by supporters of Donald Trump, in a security breach unlike that the country has seen before.
Thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Washington DC and moved on to the United States Capitol building where a joint session of Congress was beginning the Electoral College vote count to formalise Joe Biden's victory. The ensuing violence resulted in five deaths, injuries and property damage.
Trump supporters are convinced that the presidential election was 'rigged' and that Biden and the Democrats had 'stolen' the election from them.
What happened on Capitol Hill did not happen in a vacuum. It was the result of years of conditioning by right-wing elements within American society and emboldened by four years of divisive and destructive politics by Donald Trump.
While these elements previously hid in the fringes, they were empowered and took to the mainstream after Trump took office.
Former president Donald Trump is a cautionary tale on identity politics and the dangers of extreme political rhetoric. Words from influential leaders have consequences and will result in the scenes witnessed on Capitol Hill that day.
The political ramifications of the storming of Congress came swiftly to the outgoing president. Many of his allies deserted him, and his party distanced itself from him. Talks of impeachment arose in the aftermath, and despite his fighting words leading up to the event, Trump had no choice but to effectively concede to Joe Biden.
Biden has his work cut out for him. While his victory was decisive, millions of Americans still cast their votes for Trump. Biden managed to flip several key states from red to blue, but it was by no means an easy victory. He will inherit an America that is as divided as ever and wrecked by the pandemic and the resulting economic woes.
We do not know how Biden's presidency will turn out. But his few executive orders have been sensible. He overturned Trump's 'Muslim ban' executive order. He has announced that the United States will rejoin the Paris Agreement. He has also mandated the wearing of masks on all Federal premises. These are not revolutionary measures, but necessary ones.
The American course correction, which began when Joe Biden was elected, is well on its way. Americans are rectifying the 'mistake' they made more than four years ago when Trump won the presidential elections in 2016.
SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
