Is this Trump's last stand? Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. The cable networks could barely keep up with the rapidly evolving nomenclature in Washington yesterday. What started as a Trump rally with the White House as the president's backdrop turned into a protest march in the direction of the Capitol building, which turned into a riot that stormed the building and, soon after, an informal occupation variously called a coup or an insurrection. Within an hour, rally attendees became protesters, who morphed into rioters and then armed insurrectionists. The imagery was stunning. Check out our surreal photo gallery that captured the day's chaos. A video of a lone Capitol police officer in constant retreat as the insurrectionists entered the Capitol, calling for backup that only arrived in the foyer outside the Senate chamber. One occupant hanging from a balcony inside the chamber. Members of Congress sheltering in place in the House of Representatives chamber. Another rioter, wearing a MAGA hat and draped in the American flag, rummaging through a congressional office . A since-deleted tweet from behind a desk at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, where vandals had their way with the place. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network spotted a Canadian flag on the steps of the Capitol. (Another Canadian angle: the last time the Capitol faced a similar breach was during the War of 1812.) Eventually, Trump tweeted that everyone who'd stormed the building should "remain peaceful"—failing to condemn the bedlam they'd sowed. An hour later at 4:17 p.m., the president posted a minute-long video—later removed by Twitter, which locked the account for 12 hours—in which he urged the rioters to retreat. "You have to go home now. We have to have peace." But Trump didn't distance himself from the mob. He embraced them. "We love you ," he said. "You're so special." Twitter had slapped a chilling warning on the tweet: "This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can’t be replied to, Retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told News1130 in Ottawa that he was following the situation closely, and reinforced his faith in the neighbour to the south. Later, he released a more forceful statement. "Violence will never succeed in overruling the will of the people. Democracy in the U.S. must be upheld—and it will be." By 5 p.m., riot police were clearing the ersatz invaders from the Capitol building. So when do we start promoting democracy? Paul Wells notes that the PM's agenda included a chat with British PM Boris Johnson, and a clinically written "readout" made no mention of the events in Washington. If this weren't the U.S., Wells says, surely Canada would find its voice. I thought the world needed more Canada? If the sacking of a capital city by forces loyal to a failed and desperate autocrat were happening in one of the many countries Canada finds easier to patronize—Venezuela, say, or Ukraine, or even India or China—it’s hard to imagine Canadian officials would stay quite this meekly quiet. Perhaps the foreign minister would be on a plane to a third country to discuss options. Or indeed, maybe even marching in the streets of the embattled capital. There’d be sanctions against officials who forgot that their loyalty must lie with rules and institutions, not with cronies. A coup attempt in Washington: As the day's disorder started to melt away, Scott Gilmore writes that it's the next day that's even more crucial. Trump and his allies, and the rioting hordes, had their say. What's next? We can argue that this was predictable, that this was the inevitable conclusion of a Trump presidency, but right now that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the next 24 hours. What will the Pentagon choose? Trump or America? What will Republican politicians choose? Trump or America? The shape of the 21st century will be decided by these choices in the hours ahead. The Republican party has become an authoritarian party: The Democrats are about to gain control of the U.S. Senate after two upset wins in Georgia. That means they'll hold both houses of Congress and the White House. Shannon Gormley describes the disgraceful disintegration of the Republican Party, which can no longer serve a useful purpose as a political counterbalance in a two-party system. The Republican party faced a test—would it support an authoritarian as long as an authoritarian offered it power?—and now that the authoritarian is enfeebled the test is over, and it failed. It went along for the mad ride until it smashed into a tree. It is no credit to the party if it does not follow the president all the way to a coup, because there is no coup attempt viable enough to effectively follow through on. A major democratic party followed a fascist to his end, and there it met its own. Meanwhile, in Canada: When Americans take over the news cycle, you always have to wonder what goes largely unnoticed (especially during a post-holidays reckoning for politicians who ventured overseas). Yesterday, Transport Minister Marc Garneau formalized a new policy that will require returning travellers to present a negative COVID-19 test result on arrival. Tories complained that Liberals consulted nobody, whipped up an interim order, and "created panic among Canadians who must now scramble to obtain testing abroad." Elsewhere, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson had a beef with Americans over possible development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, "due to the potential impacts on the Porcupine caribou herd and on Indigenous Peoples." Wilkinson says the Canadians "have not received a response that addresses the high level of risk to our shared species." Less than a month ago, Wilkinson took issue with slashed migratory bird regulations in the U.S. This morning, the PM's daily itinerary notes he'll participate in a virtual commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the Flight 752 tragedy. He'll also speak with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte (will they comment on the elephant-shaped political party in the room?) and convene another meeting with Canada's premiers. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 