If Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were a vaudeville duo, their signature song (with apologies to Irving Berlin) might go: “Anything mean you can do, I can do meaner.”

Their policies would be easier to bear if they weren’t larded with so much malice and cruelty. Trouble is, cruelty is the point. It’s how would-be dictators bend free people to their will.

Trump’s vendetta against unauthorized immigrants is far more expansive and ruthless than simply sealing the border. He relishes hurting them. He wants to spread terror — and he’s succeeding. No matter the subject, his language, especially in his Truth Social posts, is consistently violent.

He’s no Mr. Nice Guy, and neither is DeSantis, the most humorless, confrontational Florida governor in memory.

Not to be outdone, Trump’s former proté

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