Trump just declared once again on Fox News that the outcome of the election cannot be legitimate if he loses. This is the third time he's made this claim explicit. Yet the political media just seems to largely tolerate it. That's insane. New piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/15/trump-just-repeated-his-ugliest-claim-about-election-why-isnt-it-bigger-news/

When Trump says no outcome can be legitimate in which he loses, it isn't just "crazy Trump playing the media chaos game."

He's telling *his supporters* to gird for the election to be stolen *from them.*

That makes civic damage or violence more likely:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/15/trump-just-repeated-his-ugliest-claim-about-election-why-isnt-it-bigger-news/

Trump's claim that the opposition is illegitimate functions as justification for his own nonstop corruption of the election. If the opposition is illegitimate anything goes.

Conventional political reporting can't handle this imbalance (cc @jayrosen_nyu):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/15/trump-just-repeated-his-ugliest-claim-about-election-why-isnt-it-bigger-news/