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This afternoon, after Kamala Harris certified Donald Trump’s 2024 electoral victory, the vice president had a curious choice of words: “Today, America’s democracy stood.

Five years ago, at the 2020 Golden Globes, the comedian Ricky Gervais issued a scathing critique of celebrity activism. During his opening monologue as the ceremony’s host, Gervais took attendees to task for their apparent hypocrisy: “You say you’re woke, but the companies you work for—I mean, unbelievable,” he said, pointing out how Apple TV+ shows are “made by a company that runs sweatshops in China.

The first former president to be convicted of a felony is now also the first convicted felon to be elected as president.
Donald Trump won reelection on November 5, paving the way for his return to the White House—as well as the end or postponement of the criminal cases against him. The extent to which those cases also paved the way for his return to the White House will be a topic of debate for years.

My friend’s boyfriend, Joe Mullen, is a warm and sweet guy, a considerate person who loves dogs and babies. When I see him in person, once every month or two, he makes a point to ask me what I’ve been up to, how my life is going. Joe is a big music fan, and we share a love of music made by weird British people. I once got excited for him to check out an artist I thought he’d like. So I asked him for his number, and later I sent him a Spotify link to an album. “Hi It’s Schnipper,” I wrote.

Political violence is hardly new to the United States, but over the past two decades the appetite and tolerance for violence in American political life has been growing. The country entered an unprecedented phase in November, when voters returned Donald Trump to the presidency despite his vague promises of revenge and his specific promises of pardons for the January 6 insurrectionists. Terrorists and assassins are emerging from unexpected corners of society.