On occasion, I can't help but reflect on the vile words and actions that Trump has vomited up since descending his golden escalator a decade ago. I find myself foolishly compelled to rank order the horrors, all the while knowing that it's a fool's errand, not to mention the tragic reality that I'll be adding to the list, often by the day.

Where does the Big Lie stand, and the resulting insurrection? The pardoning of the J6 traitors? What about the delay in responding to covid? The voluminous conflicts of interest? The document scandal? The attempted shakedown of President Zelensky and Georgia's Secretary of State (11,780 votes)? The rogues gallery of recent appointments? How about the obliteration of USAID? And where exactly would that stand in relation to the abandonment of Ukraine? What are the metrics to use? Is it simply body count? But what about the devastation to that nation's infrastructure, the stealing of 20,000 Ukrainian children, the incalculable suffering of their parents, and the rapes?  And then you factor in the loss of American soft power and the resulting gains that China will surely take advantage of. It's a futile exercise that doesn't help my state of mind, but I feel compelled to try to keep track.

But today's despicable performance from Trump and Vance felt different to me. My emotional reaction, the visceral outrage I experienced watching these cowards berate a true hero, President Zelensky. Their aggression, with more than a hint of violence to my eyes, was grotesque and chilling.  I would bet that the world now has a better grasp of how fragile American democracy is and how we can no longer be viewed as a positive force in this world.

Peter T.