A week is a long time in politics. On Wednesday last week, armed supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, the temple of American democracy. On Wednesday this week, he became the first American president to be impeached twice. Next Wednesday, Joe Biden will be anointed president, protected by 20,000 National Guard members, not against foreign enemies, but domestic threats. This was supposed to happen only in Hollywood films. Consider these bizarre facts: the pandemic is claiming more…

This post was originally published on South China Morning Post.