QOTD -- "Why Trump's Viciousness Matters"

 

"... Now, Trump is purposely breaking norms and engaging in open expressions of hate and bigotry. And among a set of people, this serves as a signal that it’s now socially acceptable to do the same – look, for example, atthe extremely racist and Nazi-praising chats among young Republican activists leaked to Politico. While these young MAGA-landers were outed and chastised, it’s clear that within MAGA-world emulating Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric is considered a way of signaling that you are loyal to the movement.

"And it’s also clear that if Trumpism persists, we are facing a future in which such behavior is no longer publicly unacceptable. Because Trump’s remarks about the murder of the Reiners weren’t just his personal venting. They were a symptom and a symbol of his systematic destruction of our norms, our humanism, just as he tried to destroy the norms of American democracy on January 6, 2021. It’s a profoundly nihilistic vision for America.

"And one of these days, I predict, history will judge harshly those who stayed silent." -- Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, at his eponymous Substack, on the Malignant Fascist's "profoundly nihilistic vision for America."  If anyone had been sent by a foreign enemy to destroy the United States from within, they couldn't have picked a more suitable candidate than the MF (hmmm).