… We measure people against what we perceive to be their baseline behavior. If, as evidenced by his history, we believe that Trump is a bad-faith actor with no moral compass (a belief that even some Republicans have expressed), malfeasance is to be expected. We react little to behaviors that in absolute terms are horrifying but that conform to the norm. We’re moved only by deviations from our expectations.
So it would be less surprising if a notorious criminal were guilty of a number of crimes than if an upstanding citizen were guilty of a misdemeanor: Each has set a standard of behavior against which their subsequent actions are measured. CONT.
Elizabeth Spiers (The Insurrection), Washington Post