January 6, 2021

“Shocking, Horrendous, Disgraceful”: Foreign Leaders Are Lining Up to Condemn American Violence

Historic allies issued a deluge of criticism and horror.

Mother Jones illustration

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

On Wednesday, images of shocking violence and chaos perpetrated by President Donald Trump’s supporters—and instigated by the president himself—that interrupted the joint session of Congress meeting to certify the Electoral College vote, traveled the world. As crowds of insurrectionists invaded the United States Capitol forcing members of Congress to be evacuated, a number of foreign leaders and politicians expressed reactions ranging from disbelief to concern and condemnation.

One of the first public responses came from Turkey, which invited “all parties in the US to use moderation, common sense to overcome this domestic political crisis,” according to the state-run news agency Anadolu. Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop also went on Twitter to say: “We follow the events in the USA with concern and invite the parties to calmness. We believe that problems will always be solved within law and democracy. As Turkey, we have always been in favor of the law and democracy and we recommend it to everyone.” (This is a characterization that some human rights’ activists familiar with repression under Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan may dispute.)

In a statement shared by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan government didn’t miss the opportunity to point out that “with this pitiful episode, the US is suffering exactly what it has caused in other countries with its aggressive policies,” and to wish that “the US people will finally be able to find a new path towards stability and social justice.” 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the scenes in the US Congress disgraceful and described a “peaceful and orderly transfer of power” as “vital.” His counterpart in the Netherlands took it a step further and asked “Dear” Donald Trump to recognize Joe Biden as the next president today. Jeremy Hunt, a member of the British Parliament, criticized Trump for shaming American democracy and causing “its friends anguish.”

The former Prime Minister of Italy, Enrico Letta, called the events a coup d’état, adding that the rest of the world should treat it as such. In Ireland, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney called what happened “a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters” to overturn a fair election. “The world is watching,” he tweeted. 

From Germany, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who in November said, “America is more than a one-man show,” tweeted that the enemies of democracy would be delighted with the images and that “the disdain for democratic institutions is devastating.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was following with concern the events in Washington, but expressed confidence that President-elect Biden “will overcome this time of tension, uniting the American people.” 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the acts of violence, and said he looked forward to “a peaceful transfer of Government to the newly elected administration in the great American democratic tradition.”

And from Austria, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tweeted: 

Other influential international figures to comment on the state of domestic affairs in the US include the European Union High Representative Josep Borrell, who stated that this is an “unseen assault on US democracy” and called for the election results to be respected, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who described the scenes as “shocking.” 

Also on Twitter, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod described the events as “highly disturbing” and “unpleasant,” while France’s Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the violence against American institutions as an attack against democracy. “The will and the vote of the American people must be respected,” he tweeted.  

Meanwhile, some of Trump’s closest allies abroad like far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have remained silent. And on the front page of the Times in the UK on Thursday:


THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

payment methods

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate