Barack Obama: “Anyone out there who has ever been assaulted: You are not alone. We have your back. I've got your back.”

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.

When we choose, when we make that decision, I do believe – and there is evidence for this – that the world gets incrementally better, and that is a worthy goal and it’s worth fighting for.

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.

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.