The cruelty is the point
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cruelty is the point[1] is a phrase coined by Adam Serwer in a 2018 essay in The Atlantic that has often been used to characterize the campaign and administration of US President Donald Trump, as well as the MAGA movement.[2][3] Cruelty can be considered a vice or perhaps a virtue in Machiavellianism.[4] Although the term is often applied to 21st-century populist movements, Serwer also argued that cruelty has often featured in human politics and relations.[5]
Specific policies and actions cited in relation to the term include the travel ban for citizens of several Muslim-majority states, Trump administration family separation policy, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6 insurrection,[3] and the persecution of transgender people under the second Trump administration.[6]