The Dangerous Endgame of 'He Must Be Stopped'

 For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has been the most investigated, scrutinized, and politically targeted figure in modern American history.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s his résumé.

From the moment he descended the escalator in June 2015, the full apparatus of opposition snapped into place. Not routine political disagreement or opposition research, but something far more sustained: intelligence leaks, media narratives, fabricated dossiers, bureaucratic resistance, and cultural condemnation, all rowing in the same direction.

The premise was simple.

Something would stick.

Anything would stick.

Nothing did.

Rewind the tape. Russian collusion. Endless demands for tax returns. Two impeachments. Jan. 6 recast as an insurrection. A steady drip of allegations — some serious, some sensational, some quietly abandoned when they didn’t pan out. Each introduced with breathless urgency and a familiar promise:

This is the one. We have him now. 

Think of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.

Wile E. Coyote fell off the cliff and the Roadrunner scooted away.

Naturally, the strategy evolved.

When narrative failed, prosecution followed. Enter “lawfare” — the weaponization of the legal process as a political strategy. Indictments multiplied. Novel legal theories emerged. Statutes of limitations changed. The net widened — not just around Trump, but around his associates, attorneys, aides, and, if possible, anyone who ever shook his hand or voted for him.

The message was clear: if you can’t defeat the man, bury him in the process.

Still, he didn’t go away.

At some point, even the most committed critics had to confront an inconvenient reality: the usual playbook wasn’t working. Not politically, not culturally, and not legally. At least not as they had hoped.

And that’s when a familiar pattern emerges — one that extends well beyond politics.

When repeated efforts fail, escalation is necessary.

Pressure builds. Tactics intensify. Rhetoric sharpens. Guardrails loosen.

Eventually, the line between opposition and something darker blurs.

Recent events have forced that uncomfortable question into the open. Security incidents involving Trump — including a widely reported armed confrontation at the White House Correspondents’ dinner — have underscored a reality that should concern anyone paying attention: the temperature isn’t just high. It’s rising. Soon, it will be at the boiling point.

And not in a metaphorical way.

This is not normal.

It is also not occurring in a vacuum.

Consider the rhetorical environment that has surrounded Trump for years. He is not merely criticized or opposed — he is routinely portrayed as an existential threat. “Threat to democracy.” “Fascist.” “Nazi.” “Hitler.” The escalation isn’t subtle. It’s theatrical.

And it’s constant.

Voices across the media — from Jimmy Kimmel to Rachel Maddow to the reliably outraged panels on The View — reinforce the same narrative frame: Trump isn’t just wrong. He is dangerous. Uniquely dangerous. Historically dangerous.

In other words: He must be stopped.

Repeat that message often enough — night after night, headline after headline — and it does what repetition always does. It seeps in, shapes perception, and hardens belief.

Most people hear politics, but some hear instruction.

That distinction matters more than anyone in the media seems willing to admit.

When impressionable or unstable individuals absorb a steady diet of apocalyptic rhetoric, a small but significant number will take it literally. They won’t parse nuance. They won’t weigh counterarguments. 

They won’t treat it as a metaphor. They will treat it as urgent.

Or worse — obligation.

As David Harsanyi wrote in the Washington Examiner, when rhetoric escalates, behavior sometimes follows. Not broadly. Not predictably. But enough to matter.

No, rhetoric doesn’t pull the trigger.

But it can help convince someone that pulling the trigger is justified.

That’s not a partisan argument. It’s a human one.

And it raises a question no one seems eager to answer: what responsibility, if any, comes with repeatedly telling millions of people that a political opponent is morally equivalent to history’s worst villains?

Apparently, none. Or so we’re told.

Meanwhile, the irony grows harder to ignore.

Trump is repeatedly accused of being a “king,” an authoritarian-in-waiting, a dictator poised to end democracy as we know it.

Really?

If that were true — if he wielded anything resembling monarchical power — the evidence would look very different. His critics wouldn’t dominate the media landscape. Prosecutors wouldn’t compete for jurisdiction. Late-night hosts wouldn’t build entire careers on mocking him.

Kings don’t get investigated.

Kings don’t get indicted.

Kings aren’t mocked nightly on television.

Kings don’t get shot at.

They rule.

And those who object are imprisoned. Or worse. 

Contrast that with Congress offering multiple standing ovations to King Charles — an actual hereditary monarch — while often withholding even basic courtesies from an elected American president.

You almost have to admire the symmetry in the absurdity.

Meanwhile — lost somewhere beneath the outrage cycle — Trump continues to do what he said he would do. Border enforcement. Immigration control. Rolling back DEI programs. Targeting bureaucratic excess. Pursuing policies that, whether one agrees with them or not, were central to his campaign.

Supporters see promises kept.

Critics see heresy.

But what they cannot honestly claim is that they are surprised.

Which leads to the question that has haunted his opponents since 2016. Why hasn’t any of it worked?

Why, after years of saturation-level media coverage, endless investigations, multiple indictments, and an increasingly heated political climate, does Trump remain not just relevant—but viable?

Because voters are less gullible than the narrative assumes.

Repetition without resolution breeds doubt and inattention. 

Because escalation, when overplayed, begins to look less like justice and more like desperation.

And because Americans — despite everything — still retain the right to decide for themselves.

But the real issue isn’t Trump.

It’s what happens when escalation becomes the default mode of a political system.

When narrative fails, escalate.
When prosecution fails, escalate.
When both fail, what then? What’s left?

That question is no longer theoretical.

We are beginning to see the early outlines of the answer, and it should concern anyone who values the stability of the American experiment.

Once escalation is normalized, it doesn’t stay neatly contained. It doesn’t stop politely at the boundaries of acceptable discourse. It spills over — into institutions, into culture, and eventually into behavior.

Robert’s Rules of Order and Emily Post's Etiquette turn into jungle warfare.

That’s the real endgame.

Not persuasion. Not debate. Not even victory.

Just escalation — for its own sake.

And that path doesn’t lead where its advocates believe it does.

It doesn’t restore trust, resolve division, or strengthen democracy.

It corrodes all three.

Once “he must be stopped” stops being rhetorical, it becomes uncontrollable.

Once escalation takes on a life of its own, it doesn’t just target individuals.

It targets the system.

Once that system starts to crack, there’s no guarantee anyone — on either side — will like what comes next.

 

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a Colorado-based ophthalmologist who writes frequently about medicine, science, and public policy.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/05/the_dangerous_endgame_of_he_must_be_stopped.html