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There is something even more frightening than how freely Donald Trump gives license to political violence by his toxic rhetoric. Its that we Americans have become inured to his poison.

The nation collectively shrugs Its just Trump being Trump. And Im not just talking about his millions of supporters, who laugh, clap, ignore, or, in too many cases, act on his provocations, or threaten to. How can this man be the overwhelming favorite of one of our political parties to be president again?

Trump wont change, but we voters and the media must, and before the 2024 election. We must stop normalizing nasty; our detachment is dangerous. If Trump could ever credibly deny that he was not fomenting violence by his bilge, he lost that excuse on Jan. 6, 2021.Numerousotherincidentsattest to the perverse power of his words. He knows what hes doing.

Take just the last few weeks. Disparate news stories about a Republican senator, a four-star general, a 20-something former Trump aide and a political spouse came and too-quickly went, all of them bound by a common thread: the real-life threat that Trump poses by his incessant attacks on his fellow Americans.

You may have forgotten these news bits, if you heard about them at all. They would have been big, multiday news reports if the transgressor were, say, President Joe Biden instead of Trump. That these stories werent bigger news speaks to our regrettable tolerance of Trumps incitements.

In mid-September,the Atlanticreported that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney spends $5,000 a day for security for himself and his family, given the threats he receives as a Trump critic and frequent target. Romney lamented that other Republican senators mostly remain silent about Trump, though they disdain him as much as Romney does, and didnt vote to convict him after his post-Jan. 6 impeachment. But, Romney conceded, the others cant afford protection.

Stop and think about that: U.S. senators wont condemn the contemptible Trump because theyre scared for their lives. Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon famously intimidated politicians, but their enemies lists didnt amount to hit lists.

Then there was the news that Trump, incensed by a profile of Gen. Mark A. Milley that chronicled Milleys efforts as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to block then-President Trumps mad and unconstitutional demands, suggested the general was guilty of treason and deserving of execution (DEATH!). Trump repeated the charge of treason during a California visit.

That outrage predictably heightened concerns about retribution from Trumps MAGA militants. Milley hassaidhe has adequate security and is taking appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family. Imagine: A four-star decorated combat veteran having to take protective measures because of the words of the former (and future?) commander in chief.

Then theres the recent coverage of Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide who showed more courage than Republican senators by her damning testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee last year. Now shes written a book. What is new, what jumps out, is her account of the price shes paid for provoking Trump, who punched back (er, down) and thus triggered his backers: Hutchinson was advised by security officials that she wasnt safe in Washington. She went into hiding in Atlanta.

He is dangerous for the country, Hutchinson warns. Believe her.

California Republicans clearly dont. Trump recently headlined their fall convention and mocked the grisly hammer attack last fall on Paul Pelosi by a far-right conspiracist intending to kidnap former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Hows her husband doing, by the way? Anybody know? Trump teased. His audience guffawed, cheered and applauded. Shame on them.

Trump is injecting venom into the nations bloodstream as fast as his thumbs can punch and his mouth can move. Scholars have a term for it:stochasticterrorism, the use of mass media to provoke random acts of ideologically motivated violence.

Yet weve become all but immune to this venom. As Bidennotedlast week in Arizona, speaking about the threat to democracy from political violence: The silence is deafening. He meant from Republicans, but his admonition goes to each of us.

Jackie Calmes is an opinion columnist for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, D.C.

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Opinion: Americans should care about Trump's violent rhetoric - The Virginian-Pilot