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Turkey awash with schadenfreude over Capitol takeover

A large number of Turks feel deep animosity toward the United States, and as sense of just desserts prevails as the world reels from yesterday's rioting in the Capitol.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. — Samuel Corum/Getty Images

“America is burning,” reads a top trending hashtag in Turkey following the storming of the Capitol building by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump — an expression not of alarm but rather of widespread schadenfreude. A large number of Turks feel deep animosity toward the United States. For many, America is getting its just desserts for the decades of humiliation it's inflicted on other weaker states. Images of Trump supporters in their outlandish outfits and the Statue of Liberty on life support making the rounds on social media were hailed with mockery and glee. “The curses of the children you slaughtered are yet to take effect,” read a typical tweet.

“Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn,” read another.

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