Barack Obama: “But the United States of America was founded on the belief that people should govern themselves.”

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

A drift towards extremism was "not inevitable

Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.