| It’s tempting to ignore the former President’s expressions of rage, but the stakes for American democracy demand that attention be paid.  Photograph by Mark Peterson / Redux To comprehend the implications of Donald Trump’s increasingly violent rhetoric—as he campaigns for President in and around various courtrooms throughout the country—you have to look at other recent autocratic leaders. In an urgent and powerful new essay, David Remnick points to Rodrigo Duterte, the former President of the Philippines, who rose to power by promising to execute those whom he deemed a threat to law and order. And then, after taking office, he made good on his most brutal threats, which human-rights groups estimate led to the deaths of ten thousand people. This is the same language we hear now from Trump, as he casually calls for the deaths of shoplifters, migrants, his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—all to the delight of his laughing crowds. “In the coming year, you will rarely, if ever, hear discussion of policy from Trump,” Remnick writes. “You will hear expressions of rage and impulse. It is tempting to ignore them, to dismiss them as inconsequential, repetitious, corrosive. They are so painful to listen to, both in their hatefulness and in their frequency, that some have argued the media should ignore them entirely, the better to avoid elevating them. But ignoring them will not make them go away.” Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | 
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