To evade a reported assassination threat, Donald Trump was smuggled onto a separate plane while his staff and reporters flew on Air Force One, believing he was aboard. This action reveals a leadership style that prioritizes personal safety above all, even the well-being of his team.

The number one threat to the United States is not a foreign government or fringe militia, but tens of millions of mainstream Americans who now support political violence. This normalization of violence within the body politic represents a new, more dangerous era.

Rising support for violence on campus stems from a belief that political opponents represent 'genuine evil' or 'fascism,' not just a differing opinion. This moral framing removes normal constraints on behavior, making violence seem like a necessary and justifiable response.

Recent survey data reveals a shocking escalation: 65 million Americans support using force to prevent Donald Trump from being president, while 40 million support him using the military on protestors. This totals over 100 million Americans endorsing political violence.

Many Americans, particularly in a recent poll of Democrats, support a military coup against a political opponent without realizing such actions historically lead to violent military dictatorships, not a return to democracy, as seen in Myanmar, Egypt, and Chile.

The US is not heading toward a civil war defined by organized armies. Instead, it's experiencing "violent populism," where political violence becomes normalized on both the left and right. This creates a dangerous environment where executive power, such as the use of martial law, expands under the pretext of maintaining order.

Well-off individuals engage in political violence because they are terrified that the opposing party, upon winning, will dismantle their way of life, future, and their children's future. This perceived existential threat makes them willing to risk their comfortable lives.

When people perceive that their political participation is futile and that corporations can simply lobby their way past regulation, they are more likely to support violence. A sense of political efficacy is a powerful antidote to radicalization.

America's founding principle was to guard against government tyranny. Paradoxically, intense political division has led some to support tyrannical measures, such as a military coup, to remove a leader they fear is a dictator, fundamentally misunderstanding that the solution is worse than the perceived problem.