For two centuries, the certification of US presidential election results was little more than a ceremonial rubber stamp by Congress.
News outlets almost ignored the day of the official count of the electoral college, a standard procedural step on the way to the inauguration of the new president.
It's hard to imagine that most Americans gave more than a little thought to the event before January 6, 2021, when the riots – sparked by Donald Trump and his baseless accusations of the election was stolen – going through the Capitol. try to stop the counting.
It may not be the pleasure of the US to be so tasty about January 6th.
And yet on Monday, the vice president Kamala Harris was calm at the ceremony to confirm the victory of Trump, her Republican rival in the election of 2024. Harris declared Trump's 312 electoral college votes to her own 226 , to the recommendation of Congress.
US Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a joint session of Congress that confirmed Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election, with both sides of the political aisle supporting his party's candidate in the presidential race. to sit
Just four years ago, Vice President Mike Pence had to be rushed off the Senate floor to safety, after he admitted that his boss, Trump, had lost that election, while a crowd outside the Capitol chanted “Hang Mike Pence!”
The difference between the two days could not be greater.
“I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings,” Pence Monday said on X.
'Democracy can be fragile'
In a video message released Monday morning, Harris described her role in the testimony as a “sacred duty” to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile,” she said. “And it's up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
Four years after the unrest that threatened to change the results of a free and fair election, it is far from clear how Americans will see the events of January 6, 2021, as Trump takes role again and time passes.
President Joe Biden is urging people in the US not to pretend that day didn't happen.
“There has been an unrelenting effort going on to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day,” Biden said in an opinion piece. published in the Washington Post.
“We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” he said.
“Thousands of rioters crossed the National Mall and scaled the walls of the Capitol, breaking windows and kicking in doors,” Biden continued.
Trump is promises forgiveness A “large proportion” of those were convicted for their part in the riot, possibly as early as his first day in office, on 20 January.
The incoming president has not clearly stated which crimes he is willing to pardon. However, Trump's promise has thrown in about 300 charges related to January 6 that have not yet made their way through the courts.
About 1,000 of those arrested have pleaded guilty but now, thanks to Trump's return to the Oval Office, the accused have almost no incentive to make a deal with prosecutors.
Some political commentators believe that the electoral college count has now permanently moved from a symbolic day to an important day.
“Most profoundly, Trump will send down a message for the ages that a president who refuses to accept the result of a free and fair election and incites an attack on the Capitol can get away with it — and regain power,” wrote Stephen Collinsonsenior CNN political reporter.
Republican strategist David Frum he wrote in the Atlantic that: “Almost every institution in American society and most of the wealthiest and most influential citizens will find some way to make peace with Trump's actions on January 6, 2021.
That day was “a stunning and frightening example of the fragility of our constitutional system,” wrote author Jonathan Alter in the New York Times. “Future comments on January 6 will depend not only on the truth but on who wins the next election.”
There are signs that it may be a long time before the electoral college certification returns permanently to being a ho-hum event that everyone ignores.
The deadly truck attack in New Orleans has prompted increased security for upcoming events in Washington, including the inauguration of US president Donald Trump and a state funeral for former US president Jimmy Carter.
Back in September, before election day, the Department of Homeland Security announced the count a a special national security incidentthe first time that has happened.
As a result, there was security around the Capitol ramp up ahead of Monday's joint session of Congress, although no one expected a repeat of what happened four years ago.
Workers installed thousands of metal fence panels two meters high on the National Mall, clearly marked with signs saying “Police Line Do Not Cross” and all police officers in Washington was called in for duty.
Inside the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune congratulated Trump and set the stage for the Republican-controlled Congress to move forward in conjunction with the incoming administration.
“Now the work begins by delivering our agenda, and Mr. President, a Republican is ready to go,” he said.
