President-elect Joe Biden denounced the storming of the US Capitol as an “insurrection” and demanded President Donald Trump go on television to call an end to the violent “siege.”
“At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault,” the veteran Democrat said in Wilmington, after hundreds of Trump supporters protesting his election defeat swarmed the Capitol building and put the nation’s lawmakers at risk.
“I call on President Trump to go on national television now to… demand an end to this siege,” Biden said in a report by AFP . “To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate… threatening the safety of duly elected officials? It’s not a protest, it’s insurrection.”
“Canadians are deeply disturbed and saddened by the attack on democracy in the United States, our closest ally and neighbour,” tweeted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Violence will never succeed in overruling the will of the people. Democracy in the US must be upheld — and it will be.”
#UPDATE | US Capitol building in Washington DC is now secure, reports Reuters quoting US officials https://t.co/W1e3J1JkJf
— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the “very distressing” scenes of violence.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tweeted, “What is happening is wrong. Democracy — the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob.”
Like so many others, I’ve been watching what’s happening in the United States. I share the sentiment of friends in the US – what is happening is wrong.
— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) January 7, 2021
In another tweet she wrote , Democracy – the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob. Our thoughts are with everyone who is as devastated as we are by the events of today. I have no doubt democracy will prevail.
Democracy – the right of people to exercise a vote, have their voice heard and then have that decision upheld peacefully should never be undone by a mob. Our thoughts are with everyone who is as devastated as we are by the events of today. I have no doubt democracy will prevail.
— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) January 7, 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a video message
We believe in democracy.#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/dj3hs66KKn
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 7, 2021