January 6th will forever be remembered by Americans, and the world at large. Today, marks the fourth anniversary of January 6, 2021, when the then-President Donald Trump incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol. On that day, Trump’s supporters invaded the US Capitol, beat up police officers and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Some of those rioters called for then-Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged as he declined to contest the results of the 2020 election. The democracy that Trump tried to desecrate will enshrine his return to power.
Four years after the incident, today, Kamala Harris is set to do what nearly every vice president before her has done, which is the certifying of the incoming president’s election. This is a traditionally uneventful process that comes with a fraught moment in the American history. Harris has to formally certify her own loss and ironically, Trump’s victory, doing what she knows she must, as Pence, the former USA Vice President, did before her.
Harris’ role today “will be solely ministerial”, a White House official told CNN.
“The vice president understands that our democracy requires elected leaders who have taken the sacred oath of office and everyday citizens alike to actively preserve it,” a senior Harris aide says.
“It is with this deep sense of responsibility and duty in mind that the vice president will certify the presidential election on January 6 and reaffirm the will of the American people,” the aide adds.
According to a transcript shared with CNN, Kamala Harris will mark the anniversary, and her Monday task with a video message that reads:
“The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy. As much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny. As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile. And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
Moreover, even as Kamala Harris will certify Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, the president-elect has telegraphed plans to grant pardons to those convicted for their roles in the Capitol riot.
Source: CNN News
Report by Kofoworola Oladoke
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