Last night, while Donald Trump’s mob of rioters attacked the US Capitol building to protest the US Congress certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory, Ivanka and Donald Trump were tweeting. As the American people urged them to get on TV and call for an end to the violence that saw four people die, Ivanka Trump tweeted called them ‘patriots’.
In a now-deleted statement, Ivanka tweeted ‘American Patriots – any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful.’
The Ivanka Trump tweet:
After journalist Kate Bennet challenged her on labelling the rioters ‘patriots’ – people that are actually being dubbed as ‘terrorists’ because of their violent actions and calls for ‘revolution’ and ‘civil war’ - Ivanka replied saying she wasn’t referring to the rioters as patriots at all.
‘No. Peaceful protest is patriotic. Violence is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms,’ she tweeted.
Of course, peaceful protests weren’t so warmly welcomed by her father’s administration back in the Summer, when the Black Lives Matter protests saw police line the streets in riot gear and attack people simply for sitting on the ground. That painful irony has not been lost on the public, and the fact she deleted her original tweet speaks volumes about how appropriate it actually was.
Now, Donald Trump’s twitter account has been suspended for ‘repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity Policy’ as many state he incited this violence. His account will be blocked for 12 hours with some of his tweets already deleted by Twitter. He faces a permanent ban if he does not remove other tweets flagged by the social media organisation.
‘If the tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked. Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account,’ the Twitter safety account said.
Ivanka Trump’s Twitter is not under the same threat, but she has been condemned for her words – and notably, not asking rioters to abandon their demonstration or siege of the US Capitol building.
Ultimately, with a supporters as terrifying as the MAGA lot, it speaks volumes that both Donald and Ivanka Trump chose not to give stronger, more impassioned pleas for the violence to end. Trump now faces the possibility of being removed from office early as per the 25th amendment. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is also drawing up articles of impeachment against him.
What is the 25th amendment?
According to Cornell Law School, the 25th Amendment provides the procedures for replacing the president or vice president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation. It is usually used in cases where the president will undergo surgery and become unconscious, but Democrats have called for it to be invoked now to prevent Trump from remaining president for the next two weeks. It can be invoked by the Vice President Mike Pence who would then become acting president until Joe Biden is sworn in.
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