John Matisonn | A line from 9/11 to 6 January?

A documentary on American public broadcaster, PBS, argues that a string of post-9/11 deceptions and failures created the conditions for the rise of Donald Trump. It claims distrust in government reached a climax when citizens stormed the Capitol on 6 January, writes John Matisonn.

Most people remember where they were on 9/11. I was in my press office in Parliament in Cape Town. Two American diplomats had just left when CNN showed the planes crashing into the twin towers. I found the diplomats and escorted them out of the building.

There were conflicting reports. The State Department in Washington may have been attacked. Was the US embassy office in Cape Town safe to return to? Outside Parliament, their unmarked embassy car was blocked by a tourist bus.