The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion The Great American Crackup is underway

Columnist|
July 17, 2020 at 5:59 p.m. EDT
Protesters listen during a rally against face masks being required in schools before the Utah County Commission meeting in Provo on Wednesday. (Rick Egan/AP)

In 2018, Bob Woodward recounted then-White House chief of staff John Kelly’s view of President Trump. “He’s gone off the rails,” Kelly said. “We’re in Crazytown.”

Two years later, it feels as if the entire country resides in the Greater Crazytown Metropolitan Area.

In Provo, Utah, this week, anti-mask demonstrators, some wearing Trump 2020 paraphernalia, stormed a county commission meeting, forcing its adjournment.