In 2016, it was easy for the left to process Donald Trump’s election as a fluke – thanks to the electoral college, he’d essentially won on a technicality. But as he took office once again this month after winning the US popular vote, there is a sense that his every action comes with the tacit endorsement of the voting public.
Trump is, of course, far from the first American leader to be accused of cruelty. What’s striking about him is that he doesn’t pretend otherwise. Presidents in recent memory at least paid lip service to compassion; the new one has made exclusion, spite and bullying his brand. He seems to celebrate violating the basic rules we’re taught from infancy: be kind to others, share resources, welcome those who may seem different.
