Do you agree with Jimmy Kimmel that the Trump era will ultimately be remembered as one of the most shameful chapters in American history?
That’s a sweeping judgment, and history usually takes decades to settle arguments like this. But there is no denying how deeply this period has divided the country.
Trump has survived two impeachments, a criminal conviction, the aftermath of January 6, countless investigations and controversies, and years of political chaos that would have ended the careers of most politicians. Yet millions of Americans remain fiercely loyal to him and see his presidency not as a national embarrassment, but as a fight against institutions they believe have failed them.
His critics see something completely different: attacks on democratic norms, relentless misinformation, increasingly aggressive rhetoric, political retaliation and a country becoming accustomed to behavior that once would have been considered disqualifying for a president. Kimmel himself has repeatedly made those concerns central to his criticism of Trump.
That is what makes this era so extraordinary.
Two groups of Americans can watch the exact same president and come away with completely opposite interpretations of what he represents.
Eventually, the rallies will end, the elections will be over and Trump will no longer dominate American politics.
Then comes the judgment that no politician can control: history.
And historians may spend generations arguing about what this period did to America.
