"Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity," so the axiom goes. It's a fact of life that stuff happens to inconvenience us, sometimes through the unintentional actions of others, as much as we want to justify it to ourselves they did it on purpose.
Sadly, in the political world, especially one as polarized as this one, nobody seems to remember this concept exists.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) did a town hall on CNN recently, where someone asked him, "Did the January 6th insurrectionists display patriotism, as some of them claim they did?"
Even the usage of "insurrectionists" means this was a loaded question.
This was DeSantis's answer:
No, of course not. That was not a good day for the country. I think the media has taken that and the left has taken that and really tried to politicize it, but it was not a good day for the country. Patriotism to me is when you put yourself out there and put service above self.
Naturally, the pro-Trump influencers online are having a field day with this answer, saying that this only proves DeSantis is an establishment RINO all along and that now his chances in 2028, if not his entire political career, are utterly ruined forever.
Having accepted that Trump is most likely going to be the nominee, it is easier to just say that DeSantis answered the question poorly rather than try to explain it away, especially because nobody will accept anything else. Just look at how Nikki Haley is still trying to explain her answer to that Civil War question that was asked over a week ago.
Related: What Nikki Haley Missed in Her Answer to the Civil War Question
But therein lies the rub: Nobody is willing to admit that people, whom (most) politicians are at the end of the day, say and do stupid things all the time. Not everything has to be an intentional act of malice designed purely to sabotage the movement. A vast majority of people would not have said anything less alienating no matter which way they answered.
Even Adam Johnson, AKA Lectern Guy, said DeSantis gave a "careless answer."
Nevertheless, this little tidbit demonstrates that the moment you mess up publicly as a political figure, nobody will ever let you forget it.
And in an era of politics as polarized as this, even the slightest error in what you say will get you branded as an enemy and a traitor, even if what you have said and done before was 100% aligned with your group.
We all know the purity spiral has been a thing on the left, but for all of the right's insistence that we are the party of individuals and free thinkers, it's hard to deny that a purity spiral is occurring on this side of the aisle both among pro- and anti-Trump conservatives, leaving those somewhere in the middle forced to pick a side.
Related: Is America's Polarization Past the Tipping Point?
Those who have read me before have seen where I stand on things, so this is not to bemoan the tribalism from which I think myself immune, nor do I consider myself superior for not fully ingratiating myself into either one.
If anything, my tribe is: "I like both candidates warts and all. I legitimately hate how much the supporters hate each other. Can we all just come together once the nominee is decided and make sure we win? And if something horrible doesn't happen before then, can we keep the others around for 2028?"
