David Frum: Trump Walks the Road Away From Democracy

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https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/trump-bombs-florida-tweets/574108/

Trump Walks the Road Away From Democracy
And he is not walking alone.
11:54 AM ET
David Frum

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When people talk about Trump condoning and inviting political violence, his behavior over the past 48 hours—and that of his followers—is exactly what they have in mind: the utter lack of sympathy for the those attacked or threatened; the readiness to blame victims of terror for being terrorized; the determination to exonerate the president of any consequences for his own wild behavior; the indulgence of wild conspiracy theories as a means to achieve that exoneration, piped directly into the Oval Office from the furthest extremes of American life.

Only eight days ago, Trump praised a Republican member of Congress who physically attacked a reporter without provocation and then lied to police about the attack. Today Trump claims that there’s a conspiracy to blame him for bombs mailed to CNN and other people he has abused. And this claim is not Trump’s alone; it is echoed by many of the apologists and defenders of his government. Democracy has a rule, an absolute prohibition on the use or threat of violence to coerce political ends. Trump is walking the road away from democracy, and he is not walking alone.