Punchbowl AM:

This is how it ends.

With an attack on the U.S. Capitol. With a woman shot dead by a police officer and three others losing their lives in “medical emergencies.”

With America’s capital city locked down in a curfew. With heavily armed FBI agents escorting lawmakers to their chamber. With President Donald Trump’s allies abandoning him. @LindseyGrahamSC said, “Enough is enough.

This is the nightmarish twilight of Donald Trump’s presidency. It’s ugly. It’s dangerous. And it has left even his closest allies shocked by his behavior and wondering whether there’s any future for Trump in American public life.

House Republicans were not planning for it to be this way. They were preparing for Trump to have a significant role in the 2022 elections. He would rally voters, raise money and help the GOP win back the majority.

But now what? Will any Republican want him anywhere close to their political efforts? Can House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stay aligned with Trump, or will the middle-of-the-road donors who fund the House GOP question his judgment?

If you’re a corporation, can you back efforts to return Republicans to power if they are supporting Trump? Because make no mistake: Large corporations and moneyed executives fund the House Republican political machines, not Trump-aligned base voters.

McCarthy, meanwhile, suggested Wednesday night that it may have been left-wing rioters who stormed the Capitol -- an evidence-free theme that emerged on the right -- so perhaps we’re getting a clue about where his head is.

1,409 days after the Trump presidency began, it’s all but over, marred by an ugly spectacle seen and felt around the world.

It started in 2017 with a speech in front of the Capitol declaring that American carnage would end. And it ended with carnage in the Capitol, America’s iconic symbol of democracy sullied by a mob egged on by Trump.

Even as the mob was breaking down the doors to the Capitol, Trump dragged his feet over a request to use the National Guard to restore order, Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported.

Senior GOP officials pleaded with him to issue an unequivocal statement condemning violence, yet his video included a rant about an election that was only stolen in his mind.

Maybe this is what Republicans meant when they asked us to imagine what Trump would do if there were no adults around.