Political Year Zero

From the Archives: World Press Photo contest 2022

A statue of Confederate general Albert Pike lies with a noose around its neck, after protesters pulled it down and set it on fire, in Judiciary Square, Washington DC, USA, on 19 June 2020.

The final year of Donald Trump's presidency of the United States saw increasing polarization in the country, growing social unrest, and disinformation in the media. From early in the run-up to the 2020 US election, President Trump began to falsely accuse Democrat candidates of judicial and electoral subversion. Unrest among his supporters grew into insurrection, culminating in a 6 January attack on the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC. Later in January, Trump was impeached for a second time and charged with incitement to insurrection, later to be acquitted again by the Senate.