PRESIDENT TRUMPS lying about the election has become dangerous and not just in the sense that it damages democratic norms. It also increasingly threatens to spur physical violence against Americans who have done their duty to oversee a free and fair vote.
The Arizona Republican Party asked its Twitter followers Tuesday if they were willing to give their lives to overturn the election and die for something.
Armed protesters menaced Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and her family in their home over the weekend. Someones going to get killed, said Gabriel Sterling, a senior Georgia election official, as he detailed last week the death threats he and others have received.
Yet, Mr. Trump continues to pour gasoline on the fire, tweeting Wednesday that We will soon be learning about the word courage, and saving our Country.
Kim Ward, the majority leader of the Pennsylvania state Senate, told the New York Times that if she refused to cooperate with efforts to challenge the election result, Id get my house bombed tonight.
But passions are not dissipating; they are exploding. Republicans across the country, from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) down to county GOP chairs, are inflaming them with their encouragement or their acquiescence. Violence seems ever more possible when President-elect Joe Bidens victory becomes official if not before. Short of that, Mr. Trump is creating a new playbook for failed candidates: Rile the base; delegitimize your opponents victory; pressure state officials to flip the results. This strategy could be far more potent in a closer election. It threatens the foundations of U.S. democracy.
