Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

​Images of the day a president's mob sought to defeat democracy

rioters at Capitol
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

American democracy has been pushed to the precipice: A mob urged on by a defeated president rampaged through the Capitol as the whole world watched, before the unparalleled insurgency was put down and Congress reconvened to affirm early Thursday that a different president had without question been elected.

That summary hardly does justice to the shocking, heart-stopping images of the vandalism and violence fueling what amounted to an attempted coup — sedition incited by the most powerful person in the nation, the one most responsible for preserving and protecting the Constitution. Four years after an inaugural address in which he vowed that "American carnage stops right here," the very spot where President Trump stood was overwhelmed Wednesday with rioters wreaking carnage in his name.

There is no shortage of dogged reporting and smart analysis available elsewhere; the news is moving fast and our team is small. And pictures tell the story in ways words cannot convey. For those paying attention to Trump's steadily intensifying assault on the norms of our republic, his encouragement of the climatic occupation of the Capitol is little surprise. But for those worried about the lasting depth of our democracy's challenges, the memories captured in these photographs must never be forgotten.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter


Rioters in Senate chamber

After storming the Capitol, protestors take over the dais in the Senate chamber. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Read More

US Capitol surrounded by digital code

Some members of Congress use social media to disparage the system they’re part of.

traffic_analyzer/Getty Images

Members of Congress undermine the country – and their own legitimacy – with antidemocratic rhetoric

Miller is a visiting assistant professor of political science at the University of Richmond.

Blame was cast far and wide after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Obviously, the shooter was to blame, but depending on your perspective, you also blamed Democrats, Republicans or both for the highly charged partisan rhetoric that has heated up American political life and, for at least some people, made violence seem like an option.

While the event was shocking, the underlying mood has been building for quite a while. The political times Americans are living through are increasingly described as a “crisis of democracy.” Much has been written about growing polarization, reduced public trust in small-d democratic institutions and long-standing principles of behavior often thought of as “democratic norms,” and increasing levels of public support for autocratic ideas and leaders.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump, like Vice President Kamala Harris, had not been a dynamic political leader orior to taking center stage. Yet large followings seemed to emerge around them at dizzying speed.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Followers make political movements

Chaleff is a speaker, innovative thinker and the author of “The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders.”

The world is waking up to the long-standing reality that movements create their leaders.

Currently there’s a buzz around Kamala Harris, as there was for Donald Trump in 2016. Neither had been a dynamic political leader, yet large followings seemed to emerge around them at dizzying speed. Did they create these followings or did their followers “create them” to satisfy an unmet need?

Keep ReadingShow less
Chart showing mechanisms for setting state legislator compensation

Compensation commissions can fix the state legislative pay problem

Conte is the communications manager for RepresentWomen. Scaglia is the research manager for RepresentWomen.

From meeting with constituents to passing legislation to taking care of their families, state legislators routinely spend well over 40 hours a week serving their communities. This commitment, regardless of gender or if the legislature is full- or part-time, is often a determining factor in who runs for and stays in office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Newark offers lessons for Chicago's efforts to replace lead lines

A Newark Water Department model of the process for replacing lead-contaminated service lines.

Calvin Krippner

Newark offers lessons for Chicago's efforts to replace lead lines

Krippner is a Chicago-based solutions and investigative journalist.

The prevalence of lead-contaminated drinking water remains an ongoing infrastructure issue in cities throughout the United States. Many of the contaminated water lines exist primarily in the Midwest, within homes that were built before 1960.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2023 that roughly 9.2 million lead service lines were still in use across the nation. Of these, it is estimated that roughly 400,000 exist in Chicago, a higher number than in any other city and around twice as many as in the second-highest city, Cleveland.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tim Walz

Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Tim Walz is a Romantic politician

Anderson edited "Leveraging: A Political, Economic and Societal Framework," has taught at five universities and ran for the Democratic nomination for a Maryland congressional seat in 2016.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, is not the classic politician. The classic politician either has a law degree and rises up the electoral ranks or had great success in business or the military before shifting to politics.

But not Walz, who has been identified as a man of the people — raised on a farm, social studies teacher, high school football coach, member of the National Guard, congressman and governor.

Keep ReadingShow less