The collective American psyche, already worn down by years of fractured political rhetoric, social media pandemonium, and an economy that can only be described as a cruel joke for the common man, had finally reached the boiling point. The solution? Donald Trump. Again.

Trump’s language is a cacophony of bravado and aggression, punctuated by that familiar sneer that seems to suggest he’s just one tweet away from inciting a riot.

They’ve been fed a steady diet of grievance and paranoia, spoon-fed the notion that all the wrongs in their lives can be traced back to the “Others” — the immigrants, the educated elites, the outsiders, the women who haunt their nightmares.

The Trump era has shattered the consensus that allowed for civil discourse; it has unleashed a wave of tribalism that turns neighbors into enemies and discourse into shouting matches.

From the outset, Trump’s ascent was heralded by a cacophony of false promises and incendiary rhetoric. The campaign was a potent cocktail of fear and bravado, with a staggering number of voters throwing caution — and critical thinking — to the wind.