With hindsight it seems inevitable that the most stunning, despicable moment of the Trump presidency would come in its season finale. The storming of the US Capitol last week by far-right Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists shocked even those who had been paying close attention. The fallout from the event will likely last for years.
This week, a rapid impeachment process began in the House of Representatives as the president silently stewed (having had his Twitter account removed). By our next issue, the United States will have a new president, who will control of Congress thanks to wins in Senate runoffs in Georgia. But who knows what will play out between now and then?
This week, our world affairs editor Julian Borger looks at exactly what happened in Washington on 6 January and Washington bureau chief David Smith examines the US’s long road to this executive insurrection.
We also reflect on last week’s elections in Georgia, where Kenya Evelyn highlights the black voter drive which turned the Senate blue and Daniel Strauss wonders how Biden will navigate an upper house where every vote is vital.
While America faces a political crisis, Britain has been roiled by its new Covid surge. As ministers debated extra restrictions to try to contain the virus, Helen Pidd went to Milton Keynes to spend a heartbreaking day on a Covid ward that is already bursting at the seams as cases rise.
The UK is at least doing well with its mass vaccination programme, with millions already having had their first doses. Other countries – those that have contained the outbreak, such as Australia and New Zealand – are watching and waiting to see the results from the UK and other countries. In this week’s magazine we ask the experts if that’s the right call.
