The January 6 mob’s core meaning concerned national belonging and power, not populism

Evidence

That image, more than any other taken that day, captured the meaning of not just the mob but the Trump movement itself. It was never about “populism” or “nationalism” or the interests of working Americans. It was never about restoring the country to any kind of “greatness.” It was always about the contours of our national community: who belongs and who doesn’t; who counts and who shouldn’t; who can wield power and who must be subject to it. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 623

Categorization

• XREF: Ties the reframing argument to a contemporary case: the Capitol riot’s Confederate flag beside Calhoun’s portrait is the ‘origin story as infrastructure’ thesis tested against present-day events.