<em>The Atlantic Daily</em>: What the Mob Said About America

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This is a terrible week for American democracy. And it marks the worst week of the pandemic so far. Today, we’re looking at these crises playing out in tandem.

The Fallout in D.C.

The deadly occupation of the U.S. Capitol provided fresh, disturbing imagery of the ongoing assaults on the country’s political system.

Now Americans must consider where we go from here.

This wasn’t just an attack on democracy. “It was an attack on multiracial democracy, which is younger than most members of the Senate,” Adam Serwer argues.

Abroad, America’s friends were horrified. “There is no way to overstate the significance of this moment, no way to ignore the power of the message that these events send to both the friends and the enemies of democracy, everywhere,” Anne Applebaum argues.

Don’t let Trump’s enablers pretend it didn’t happen. “The health of the republic depends both on what swift consequences come—for Trump and for others—and also on how people remember the participants’ actions later on,” David A. Graham writes.

The COVID-19 Pandemic

Around the country, the coronavirus outbreak continues to reach new heights.