World media see Trump ignite an ‘insurrection’

Shock and contempt for the violent storming of the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters is evident in many reports and commentary on the event from around the world. 

In Turkey, the pro-government Turkiye paper notes: “Trump’s stubbornness stirred the US”. 

“I expect Trump to be tried after this turmoil,” said one pundit on Egypt’s MBC Misr TV, adding that “the US is no longer a superpower in the full sense of the word”.

Several of America’s adversaries seized the opportunity to portray the incident as an example of the country’s structural weaknesses and what they see as its hypocrisy.  

“@SpeakerPelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as ‘a beautiful sight to behold’ — it remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill,” tweeted China’s daily Global Times.

In Iran, state TV and radio inaccurately reported that the mayor of Washington DC had imposed “martial law”, instead of the 12-hour curfew on the capital, which is what actually happened. 

And in Russia, where the first day of the Orthodox Christmas is currently being celebrated, footage of Trump’s supporters ransacking the Capitol dominates state TV.

Rolling news channel Rossiya 24 has played scenes of the violence at length, with no comment other than the caption “Attack on the Capitol”.

Some channels have also shown sympathy for the pro-Trump supporters, suggesting that they had cause to feel “cheated” over November’s presidential election, and talked up claims that the event represents a crisis for US and even Western democracy.

Rossiya 24 said they were “dissatisfied with the most scandalous election in US history”, while Rossiya 1 said it was the US system of democracy that was “to a large degree the cause of today’s events”.

Even for those not necessarily unfriendly to America, the incident shows serious rifts in society that Trump’s departure won’t address.

“Behind the façade of plastered smiles… and phrases about ‘the best country in the world’ lies the drama of a gigantic income gap, society in which more and more people struggle to make ends meet, while the few do not even know how many billions they own.”