The spectacle of a Democratic Party in disarray at its 2016 national convention prompted Donald Trump to tweet, in an artfully composed example of the appropriation of left-wing rhetoric by the Right: “While Bernie has totally given up on his fight for the people, we welcome all voters who want a better future for our workers.”

The responsibility for this scenario falls on the shoulders of American liberals, who, scandalized by Trump’s invective, had advanced the self-fulfilling prophecy that a left-wing populist would never be able to defeat him. The final nail in the coffin was hammered in by Bernie Sanders himself at the DNC, when he defied some of his own supporters to pave the way for a candidate whose public perception is characterized by corruption, secrecy, and opportunism.

The previous week, as he accepted his nomination at the Republican National Convention, Trump declared himself “the law and order candidate,” promising that “safety will be restored” by his presidency. The next day, a distressed Washington Post declared Trump “a unique threat to democracy.”