There is something even more frightening than how freely Donald Trump gives license to political violence by his toxic rhetoric. It’s that we Americans have become inured to his poison.
The nation collectively shrugs — “It’s just Trump being Trump.” And I’m not just talking about his millions of supporters, who laugh, clap, ignore, or, in too many cases, act on his provocations, or threaten to.
Trump won’t change, but we voters and the media must, and before the 2024 election. We must stop normalizing nasty; our detachment is dangerous. Numerous incidents attest to the perverse power of his words. He knows what he’s doing.
Take just the last few weeks. Disparate news stories — about a Republican senator, a four-star general, a 20-something former Trump aide and a political spouse — came and too-quickly went, all of them bound by a common thread: the real-life threat that Trump poses by his incessant attacks on his fellow Americans.
You may have forgotten these news bits, if you heard about them at all. That these stories weren’t bigger news speaks to our regrettable tolerance of Trump’s incitements.