When political movements begin treating the President of the United States not as a constitutional office occupied by a political opponent, but as an existential enemy to be destroyed, the damage extends far beyond one administration or one election cycle.

Compromise becomes betrayal. Cooperation becomes weakness. Institutions lose legitimacy because citizens are conditioned to believe that any outcome produced by the other side is inherently immoral or unacceptable. Political incentives shift away from solving problems and toward sustaining outrage, paralysis, and permanent conflict.

We see this mentality reflected repeatedly in the rhetoric of influential political leaders across the country. Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker declared that “Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.” Maxine Waters urged supporters to publicly confront members of the Trump administration wherever they were found. Hillary Clinton argued that “you cannot be civil” with political opponents viewed as threats to core values. Nancy Pelosi questioned why there were not “uprisings all over the country.” Cory Booker encouraged activists to “get up in the face of some congresspeople.”

Individually, some may dismiss these statements as emotional rhetoric or political theater. Collectively, however, they reveal something deeper: a political culture increasingly organized around confrontation, moral absolutism, public intimidation, and permanent resistance rather than persuasion, restraint, coexistence, and governance.

That language may energize activists and generate headlines, but it does not govern a nation. It deepens division, hardens resentment, and rewards the most performative and destructive instincts in public life. More importantly, it creates a political culture where governing itself becomes secondary to sustaining outrage and preserving partisan power.

There is another consequence to this kind of rhetoric that is even more corrosive: it deadens our sense of shared humanity.

When political leaders repeatedly portray millions of Americans not merely........

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