Once upon a time, “Watch your tongue!” was a common admonition. A warning that if your language was not reigned in or cleaned up there would be a price to pay.
But in the time of Trump our standards for what is rhetorically acceptable – specifically for what an American leader can and cannot say in public – are out the window. We have become so accustomed to the president’s verbal coarseness, so used to his slurs and insults, so immune to even the foulest of his curses that we scarcely notice even when his words are as foul as any in the English language.
But what remains to be seen is if Trump is an exception. Does every American leader now have such rhetorical license? Does, for example, America’s vice president have the same leeway as America’s president?
The question came to mind this week when Vice President JD Vance called Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, “very, very evil.” It was at a campaign rally near Detroit, Vance accusing El-Sayed of exacerbating racial and religious divisions.
The issue here is not whether Vance is or is not substantively correct. The issue here is his labeling – his use of the word “evil” against a legitimate domestic political opponent.
The dictionary defines evil as “profound immorality or wickedness or conduct that intentionally causes significant harm, pain, or suffering to others.” Does El-Sayed qualify?
In my book, Bad Leadership, I identify seven different types of bad leadership. These types are in escalating order, which is why “evil” leadership is the last and worst of the lot. Evil leadership is when the leader and at least some followers commit atrocities. They use pain as an instrument of power. The harm done to men, women and children is severe rather than slight. The harm can be physical, psychological, or both.* Does El-Sayed qualify?
Probably Vance did not read my book. Probably Vance does not define evil as I do – or as the dictionary does. In which case he should watch his tongue.
*Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Harvard Business School Press, 2004).