Trumpism Must Be Defeated By Ballots, Not Bullets

Jonathan Chait: “That a bullet came within millimeters of killing Donald Trump is a scandal and a horror. That it failed is a blessing for all Americans.”

“In the wake of a near-tragic assassination attempt of a widely reviled figure, some people who loathe him may be wrestling with or suppressing emotions that feel contradictory. But the notions that Trump is dangerous, and that attempting to murder him is also dangerous, are not in tension with each other. The ethics and the practicality of liberal democracy both affirm a strong norm against political violence.”

“In comparison with most societies throughout history and the contemporary world, the United States is blessed with domestic peace, the rule of law, and democracy, even if we fall well short of ideal on all three measures. That is the foundation that enables continued social progress, albeit slow and sporadic. Other countries have endemic political violence, corruption, coups, authoritarianism that create a settled expectation that social differences can be settled only through brute force.”