The Capitol Riot Was Prologue
Every month, our editor in chief will bring readers inside The Atlantic for a taste of how our journalism gets made, and the issues that concern us the most. Expect interviews with our writers, trips into our archives, stories you shouldn’t miss, and more. Sign up to get this newsletter, Notes From the Editor in Chief, delivered to your inbox.
The Capitol Riot Was Prologue
Donald Trump’s battle cry of insurrection—“If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore”—didn’t strike me at first as a four-horsemen moment for American democracy. This was a failure of imagination on my part. To be fair, I was busy trying not to catch the coronavirus. For most of Trump’s January 6 speech I was 100 yards or so from the stage, and my best guess is that only 5 percent of his supporters were masked. In, a cul-de-sac of berserk anti-maskers. They were angry at Joe Biden, exceedingly angry at Mike Pence, and also a bit peeved at me.
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days