Bruen for Fast Company: The attack on the Capitol has damaged democracy worldwide for a generation
This week the world watched as a MAGA-clad mob stormed through the most sacred symbol of American democracy. They did not just breach a building. Donald Trump and his most radical supporters trampled recklessly and repeatedly over our ideals. For many, including those in his party, he had finally gone too far.
Republicans are scurrying to reconstitute and rebrand their party. They may well manage to restore confidence in their leadership in the coming years among some voters. It will be far more difficult to restore faith in the values we long preached and prodded others to follow abroad. I believe that the most lasting damage from the invasion of the United States Capitol will be in our international influence.
The American brand was already badly damaged. Yet I continued to remind concerned foreign ministers and ambassadors that despite the president’s antics, our institutions and our ideals remained strong. What happened atop Capitol Hill shook confidence in the pillars that still protected us, along with our allies, from a dangerous descent.