Top Democrats would be demanding that President Joe Biden step aside if they believed that former President Donald Trump was actually a "threat to democracy," tweets Hugh Hewitt.

If former President @realDonaldTrump was actually a “threat to democracy” (he’s not) or if Democrats really believed that Trump was such a threat (they don’t) all Democratic leaders, electeds and donors would be demanding @JoeBiden step aside (and they haven’t.)

— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) July 7, 2024

The threat is that the word "threat" would be used to do what an election is to do.

Yelling "threat" about an opposition candidate is at best a lowest-political-denominator campaign strategy. That any candidate for office represents a threat to the nation as a functioning republic is a serious charge that carries significant ramifications and requires a serious burden of proof. Overuse of it is problematic because it reduces the sensibility to actual threats.

Voters vote in elections, and elections select leaders. Calling a candidate a general threat to our system of government goes beyond policy disagreement. Such a case should be precise and made only when warranted.