It's been nearly a week since MAGA rioters and Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC to attempt a coup against the government in protest of the — fair and accurate — 2020 election results. Since then, Donald Trump has been de-platformed by social media outlets and many people are calling for him to be impeached a second time. It's...a lot to process.
Pretty soon, people from all over the world chimed in with their thoughts on what's unfolding in the US. Here's what they said:
Norway:
"Just before Christmas, our politicians — both left and right — got together for a skit for television to discuss what we should be eating for Christmas. It was all just fun and games. THIS is a terrorist coup endorsed by the president. It's insane to watch from the outside and it would never, ever happen in a functional democracy."
Australia:
"I wanna preface this by saying that the way a small child feels about Disneyland is how I felt about America most of my life. It's a wonderful, magical place I always wanted to visit because I grew up watching it on TV. And then the election four years ago was kind of like watching Mickey Mouse step aside at Disneyland and give the keys to a cracked out Donald Duck. And since that plot twist, we knew that shit was gonna go bad, we just didn't know how bad, so we've been glued to it ever since like trashy reality television."
"I'm not gonna lie to you, it's fucking weird. Like, do you guys want democracy or not?! Seems like it's pretty fucked."
"Where are your checks and balances? Because Western democracy has been hugely influenced by American politics in the last couple of decades. We have modeled a lot of our democracies around some of those same ideals, and here you are unraveling in a matter of weeks! The worst part is that everyone had the prescience to see it coming, but we just had to watch it happen, and then BAM!"
Canada:
"Seeing the image on TV of far-right domestic terrorists storming and essentially sacking the United States Capitol building is legitimately shocking. Because while — and I cannot emphasize this enough — the rest of the world does not see the US as the guardian of democracy anymore, the fact that they've billed themselves as that and propagated this mentality of 'we are the ones who respect democracy' and then let THAT happen...it's like a veil shattering. It's horrifying."
"The rest of the world isn't laughing at you. The rest of the world is worried for your safety. The rest of the world is worried for OUR peoples' safety.
"I'm a radio host and Canadian member of the media up here, and watching what happened was horrific. To see the Associated Press's stuff getting destroyed was unreal, they're the least biased of all the media sources out there. And don't get me wrong, media sources can be extremely biased...that being said, to watch journalists being attacked is horrifying and I feel for every single person who works in the industry down there. My heart breaks knowing that there's that much ignorance and racism down there. And I know we have it here in Canada too, but not to that degree."
"Honestly, sometimes I get confused. I'm not sure if I'm watching the news or a remake of Lord of the Flies."
Germany:
"I speak for all of my professors, fellow students, and colleagues that I've talked to in the past 24 hours when I say none of us were surprised. Words become thoughts, and thoughts become actions. And the words of Donald Trump have been hateful towards marginalized groups and the free press even before he became a political figure. Right now I really feel for the majority of sane and sensible people in America, but don't try to convince us that no one saw this coming. Because we did, and so did you."
Poland:
"Recent images in Washington were only a little bit shocking. ... In general, America has always been perceived as a bit of an 'exotic' and 'weird' place. Flags in front of many houses, patriotic indoctrination in schools, thinking you are unique, the best, and the greatest country in the world. And I'm sorry to say, but apart from generally poor general education in your population, everything reminded me so much of school indoctrination in Eastern Europe behind the Iron Curtain, 1930s Nazi Germany, and Starship Troopers."
The United Kingdom:
"I'm just kinda happy that the UK isn't the biggest joke in the world anymore."
"A lot of British kids watched American TV and thought 'Wow, America is it. That's the place to be, that's where I wanna go.' And now we're growing up and it's like, 'what the fuck is this?' It's really shocking, and it's actually disappointing. Because I feel bad for the people who aren't vanilla-scoops-of-ice-cream-Trump supporters. They're literally watching other people bring their country down and bring them along with it."
Italy:
"I'm just so freaking confused. I thought I lost faith in my country, but actually, right now, I think I might've lost faith in humanity. I just saw a man with horns in Capitol Hill. Like, are you freaking serious?"
And Mexico:
"It was weird, it was scary. I'm from Northern Mexico, and my country has had protests when a presidential candidate didn't win an election. We've had public buildings being taken by different types of protests. But I don't think I've ever seen a bunch of people acting cult-like with such an irrational anger when a democratic decision has been as clear as the US election. As someone who's passionate about politics and international politics, seeing a 'global superpower' with this level of instability is intense."
Let this act as a reminder that millions — if not billions — of people are still watching to see how the US will react to this attack, and the actions we take moving forward will define who we are as a country. Just some food for thought.
