6 newyork| january3–16, 2022
ja n ua ry6, 2021,maybe themostcontentiousdatein American
hi story.To Democratsandthesurvivingremnantof anti-Trump
Republicans,theeventwasa spasmof right-wingpoliticalviolence
ai medat terminatingtherepublicanexperiment.To mostRepub-
licans,it wassomethingrangingfroma nobleuprisingto a prank
gonesomewhatawryto, at worst,a minorlapsein judgment.We do
not yethavea commonlanguageto describethisevent:Itscritics
ca ll it an “insurrection,”its defendersandminimizersa “protest.”
Indefenseof theconservativepointof view,themobinva-
sionof theCapitol—forall thedeadly-earnestintentionsof its
participants—neverstoodanyrealchanceof victory.It wasnever
goingto be a stormingof theBastilleor theWinterPalace.It was,
in stead,an actof politicaltheater,yetthathardlydiminishesits
si gnificance.Theaterdrawsitspowerfromtheaudience’sinter-
pretation.WhatreallymatteredaboutJanuary6 wasnotthe
ev entsof thedaybutwhattheRepublicanPartymadeof them.The National Interest:
Jonathan Chait
Whatthe Insurrection
Acco plished
Trumphastransformed
hispartyintosomething
onceunrecognizable
inside: The City Council’s female majority / Peter Sarsgaard’s literary fixations / Striking it rich in the crypto casinoIllustration by Pablo DelcánPHOTOGRAPH: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES (TRUMP)