America's institutions survived Trump stress test

In the wake of the storming of the Capitol, it has been easy to feel despair about the future of the United States and fear that former President Donald Trump’s reckless demagoguery has done deep and irreparable damage to the nation. But with Trump’s term now over, the events of the last four years can be looked at in another way: They proved that the U.S.’s institutions are strong, and they survived the stress test posed by Trump.

While one could point to a lot of disturbing episodes over the past four years, it should also be noted that many of the fears of a Trump presidency never came to fruition.