The political landscape, it is often said, is a battlefield of ideas, a contest of policies debated in the hallowed halls of democracy. Yet, in the age of Donald Trump, this battlefield has taken on a more primal, more punitive dimension. The rules of engagement have been rewritten. The art of political disagreement has been replaced by the science of personal retribution. To thwart Donald Trump is not merely to lose a debate; it is to court punishment.

Recently, The Economist wrote: “To thwart Donald Trump is to court punishment. A rival politician can expect an investigation, an aggravating network may face a lawsuit, a left-leaning university can bid farewell to its public grants, a scrupulous civil servant can count on a pink slip and an independent-minded foreign government, however determined an adversary or stalwart an ally, invites tariffs. Perceived antagonists should also brace for a hail of insults, a lesson in public humiliation to potential transgressors”

This is a stark message, and it is a pattern that has defined Trump's political career, both as a candidate and as president. It is a modus operandi built on the simple, unyielding principle that perceived disloyalty must be met with a swift and decisive response. This is not the political rough-and-tumble we are accustomed to; it is a system of public humiliation and professional endangerment, a lesson in what happens when one crosses the man at the center of the political universe.

. . .

The attacks on universities, the legal suits against the media, the raids on political rivals—all of this is not an exception to American political life. It is, in fact, a recurring, dark vein in American history. The pattern is clear: a powerful leader, a personal vendetta, and the use of the state to settle scores. The names change, the targets change, but the playbook is remarkably consistent.

So, while the current moment feels unique, the historical record tells a different story. The danger isn't that we've never seen this before. The danger is that we have seen it before, and we have often failed to fully grapple with its implications until it was almost too late. The lesson of history is that this kind of politics is not an aberration; it is a temptation that every powerful leader faces. And what we're seeing now is a stark, public reminder of just how easily that temptation can be acted upon.