“Time to Put Out the Garbage Fire”: The Week in Review

In moments of national crisis, presidents typically reach for unifying themes, as Bill Clinton did after the Oklahoma City bombing and George W. Bush did with the bullhorn on the wrecked fire truck after 9/11. President Trump on Thursday chose confrontation over conciliation.

Upset that critics linked a spate of pipe bombs targeting his adversaries to his own angry messaging, Mr. Trump abandoned the scripted call for national solidarity he issued the day before and lashed out at perceived enemies for fomenting the toxic political environment they say he has encouraged.

Even though investigators have not named a suspect, let alone a motive, the debate that erupted focused new attention on the contagion of divisive and at times violent language that starts with the president and filters down to other politicians and to partisan media. Demonization has become mainstream, and the events of the past few days seem almost like a predictable but dangerous outcome of the rage and resentment that dominate the United States’ political conversation.

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