Donald Trump's refusal to concede is no joke – it's a dangerous precedent | Nesrine Malik

US institutions have a record that is far too patchy to wager the country's democratic future on

What started on a golden escalator five years ago ended in the parking lot of a garden design company next to a sex shop and across the street from a crematorium. The Four Seasons Total Landscaping incident - someone appeared to have booked a gardening services' purveyor instead of the luxury Four Seasons hotel - was heavy with symbolism, and perfectly timed.

The colossal joke triggered a sort of joyous breaking of a fever, as the power of the Trump administration ebbed away in front of the assembled cameras. The tension caused by the red mirage of Trump's strong early showing during the election melted away, and all that remained was laughter. Social media rejoiced in the symbolic diminishment of Trump. Serious news channels tried and failed to cover it straight. The memes were bountiful.