By certifying Trump’s election victory, Kamala Harris is making January 6 routine again

For two centuries, the certification of the results of US presidential elections has been little more than a ceremonial seal by Congress.

The day the official Electoral College votes were counted, a routine procedural step on the road to the inauguration of a new president, was virtually ignored by the media.

It is difficult to imagine that the vast majority of Americans have thought about this event more than a moment before January 6, 2021, when rioters — incited by Donald Trump and his baseless claims that the election was stolen — rampaged through the Capitol. To try to stop the count.

The United States may never again have the luxury of being so indifferent about January 6.

However, on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris calmly presided over the certification ceremony for the victory of Trump, her Republican rival in the 2024 elections. Harris announced that Trump had obtained 312 electoral college votes compared to her 226, amid applause from Congress.

Exactly four years ago, Vice President Mike Pence had to be rushed from the Senate floor to a secure location, After he admitted that his boss Trump had lost that election, while a crowd of people outside the Capitol chanted “Hang Mike Pence!”

The contrast between the two days could not be more stark.

“I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings,” Pence said. He said Monday on X.

‘Democracy can be fragile’

In a video message posted Monday morning, Harris described her role in ratification as a “sacred obligation” to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.

“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile,” she said. “It is up to each one of us to stand up for our cherished principles.”

Four years after riots threatened to change the results of a free and fair election, it is not clear how Americans will perceive the events of January 6, 2021, with Trump again in office and time ticking down.

President Joe Biden is urging people in the United States not to pretend that what happened that day didn’t happen.

“Vigorous efforts have been made to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day,” Biden said in an op-ed. Published in the Washington Post.

He added: “We cannot allow the truth to be lost.”

Biden continued: “Thousands of rioters crossed the National Mall and scaled the walls of the Capitol, smashing windows and breaking down doors. Law enforcement officials were beaten, dragged, unconscious, and stomped on.”

Trump is Promising pardon A “significant portion” of those convicted for their role in the riots were likely as soon as his first day in office, on January 20.

The incoming president did not clearly indicate which crimes he would like to pardon. However, Trump’s promise has overshadowed the nearly 300 lawsuits related to January 6 that have yet to make their way through the courts.

Nearly 1,000 of those arrested have pleaded guilty, but now, emboldened by Trump’s imminent return to the Oval Office, the defendants have no incentive to make a deal with prosecutors.

Some political commentators believe that the counting of Electoral College votes has now permanently moved from being a symbolic day to a day of significance.

“More profoundly, Trump will send a message for the ages that a president who refuses to accept the result of a free and fair election and who incites the attack on the Capitol can get away with it — and take back power.” Written by Stephen Collinsonsenior political correspondent for CNN.

Veteran Republican strategist David Frum Written in the Atlantic That: “Almost every institution in American society and the vast majority of its wealthiest and most influential citizens will find some way to come to terms with Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021.”

That day was “a stark and disturbing example of the fragility of our constitutional system.” Author Jonathan Alter writes In the New York Times. “Future perceptions of January 6 will depend not only on the facts, but on who wins the next election.”

There are signs that it may be a long time before Electoral College certification permanently reverts to a murmur event that everyone ignores.

In September, before Election Day, the Department of Homeland Security announced the result was A Special national security eventThe first time this happened.

As a result, security was imposed around the Capitol building It escalated Before the joint session of Congress on Monday, though, no one really expected a repeat of what happened four years ago.

Workers installed thousands of two-metre-high interlocking metal panels along the National Mall, which were blatantly marked with signs saying “Police Line Do Not Cross,” and all Washington police officers were called to duty.

Inside the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune congratulated Trump, paving the way for the Republican-controlled Congress to move forward with the incoming administration.

He said, “Now the work begins to implement our agenda, Mr. President. Republicans are ready to withdraw.”