CHRIS FREMANTLE

Joe Biden tried to reassure the country that day. “The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America, do not represent who we are.”

More directly Representative Nancy Mace said “This is not who we are,”

“That is not who we are,” the first lady assured the graduates [at a commencement address in early 2016]. “That is not what this country stands for, no.”

When political elites insisted “We’re better than this!”—a close cousin of “This is not who we are”—many Trump disciples heard “We’re better than them.”

These are all quotes from Mark Leibovitch’s article in this month’s The Atlantic, an issue in which pretty much every other article of the 40 page section entitled If Trump Wins focuses on the likely outcomes for democracy and justice.

This article highlights the real reason and driver of support for populist demagogues. ‘We’ is a dangerous word especially when it excludes people.