EU chief: World leaders worried Trump ‘permanently’ damaged democracy

• World leaders are involved former President Donald Trump did irreversible injury to democracy, in accordance with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen.
• “We’re worrying about whether or not democracy itself may need been completely broken within the final 4 years,” she mentioned, expressing horror on the Capitol siege.
• The EU chief mentioned Trump and the Capitol assault confirmed how vital it’s to “handle the darker sides of the digital world.”
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Leaders internationally are involved former President Donald Trump could have completed irrevocable injury to democracy, European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

“A yr in the past, my bilateral talks revolved primarily across the query: Would the US authorities impose punitive tariffs on European carmakers? Immediately, a yr later, we’re worrying about whether or not democracy itself may need been completely broken within the final 4 years,” von der Leyen mentioned throughout a digital speech on the Davos Agenda summit, hosted by the World Financial Discussion board.

The EU chief went on to say that the violent rebel on the US Capitol on January 6, which was provoked by Trump, underscored how crucial it’s for leaders to “handle the darker sides of the digital world.”

“Photographs like we noticed just a few weeks in the past, when an indignant mob stormed the Capitol, have been past my creativeness,” von der Leyen mentioned.

“Like for thus many people, the storming of the Capitol got here as a shock to me,” von der Leyen went on to say. “We’re all the time fast to say: Democracy and values, they’re a part of our DNA. And that’s true. However we should nurture our democracy on daily basis, and defend our establishments in opposition to the corrosive energy of hate speech, disinformation, pretend information and incitement to violence.”

“In a world the place polarizing opinions are the loudest, it’s a quick step from crude conspiracy theories to the dying of a police officer,” she added, and the Capitol siege “sadly” confirmed the world simply how “true” that’s.

5 folks have been killed because of the violence on January 6, together with a police officer. 

Trump routinely used Twitter to unfold disinformation on the US election, together with baseless claims of mass voter fraud, which helped set the stage for the lethal violence on the Capitol. He is been completely banned from the platform.

Previous to the mayhem on the Capitol, Trump engaged in a weekslong effort to overturn the election consequence. Shortly earlier than his supporters descended upon the Capitol, Trump delivered a lie-filled speech by which he falsely claimed to have gained the election and urged his supporters to “struggle like hell.”

“For those who do not struggle like hell you are not going to have a rustic anymore,” Trump mentioned on the time. Trump was impeached within the Home in mid-January for inciting the Capitol assault, and his trial is ready to start on February 9. 

Von Der Leyen shouldn’t be alone in her considerations concerning the long-term influence of Trump’s presidency on international democracy. Trump spent years showering dictators with flattery whereas undermining democratic establishments within the US. From habitually attacking the free press to trying to overturn a free and honest election, Trump repeatedly skirted democratic norms and mirrored the behavior of authoritarian leaders.

Leaders throughout the globe condemned Trump over the Capitol siege, and expressed dismay concerning the penalties for democracy extra broadly. “The enemies of democracy might be glad about these unbelievable photos from Washington, DC,” Heiko Maas, the German overseas minister, mentioned in a tweet.

And because the chief of a rustic as highly effective because the US, political scientists have warned that Trump has doubtlessly helped validate democracy-eroding practices from leaders in different components of the world. 

“Trump’s push to overturn the election outcomes could undermine democracy overseas by legitimizing anti-democratic behaviors. We have now already seen leaders in Hungary, Turkey, and elsewhere emulate Trump’s rhetoric about ‘pretend information’ to dismiss criticism,” Erica de Bruin, a political scientist at Hamilton Faculty, lately informed Insider.