The Presidency’s Relentless Race to the Bottom
Donald Trump has changed the presidency—but has he changed it forever? One undercurrent in the Democratic presidential race is an implicit debate over just that question.
Some Democrats seem to want to fight Trump’s fire with fire, outrage with outrage, vulgarity with vulgarity. Beto O’Rourke courts the cameras by barking out the F-word—and selling T-shirts displaying his vulgar quote. At the August debate, Bill de Blasio and Tulsi Gabbard grasped for a boost in the polls by launching Trump-like demagogic attacks on the front-runners. Trump showed America that political experience doesn’t count for Republicans; Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Marianne Williamson are trying to convince us that it doesn’t matter for Democrats either—or is even a liability.
Others, though, are betting that the public wants a return to normalcy, including a restoration of civility in our public life and dignity in the Oval Office. Joe Biden’s evocations
