Bear-baiting was popular in 16th and 17th century England. A bear would be led into an arena and chained to a stake. Then a pack of bulldogs or mastiffs would be released into the arena to torment the bear. Apparently, the crowds enjoyed subjecting such a powerful animal to abuse.

Donald Trump is not a bear, but he was the president of the United States when his political opponents started tormenting him, which arguably made him the most powerful man in the world.

And while Democrats in the House of Representatives, the ACLU, liberal advocacy groups and his other opponents didn’t chain him to a stake, they put him through endless oversight hearings, impeachment proceedings, lawsuits to prevent him from implementing his policies, and character assassinations.

When he finished his term in office, Democrats began a campaign to prevent him from running again. But despite their efforts, Trump persevered and was elected for a second term in the White House.

In some ways, they are worse than the people who delighted in seeing a bear attacked by a pack of ferocious dogs. At least the bear-baiting audiences weren’t motivated by hate — they just enjoyed violence. They were also patrons of arenas where dogs, bulls, chimps and other creatures fought to the death in front of cheering crowds.

Trump’s tormentors are motivated by animosity. They have stoked fear and hatred toward him with inflammatory rhetoric, which included comparing him to Hitler, calling him a fascist, and claiming that he is a threat to democracy. And they didn’t dial the rhetoric down when an assassin’s bullet almost killed him, or when a second........

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