in a now forgotten column years back, a writer noted how times had changed in britain since the 1960s. back then, he wrote, it was the rock stars who filled the tabloids with their sex and excess. by contrast the british royals, raised on noblesse oblige, largely limited their public appearances to celebrations on behalf of hospitals, schools and other worthy causes. the roles are now reversed. these days it is the british royals caught exiting nightclubs in the wee hours of the morning or captured playing naked billiards. by contrast, knighted rock stars emerge periodically from their landed estates to offer polite statements on the environment. something of the same has just happened this side of the atlantic. at least since his victory speech promising to be president for all americans<u+2014>and notwithstanding the occasional tweet deriding <u+201c>saturday night live<u+201d> as <u+201c>nothing funny<u+201d> or the new york times as <u+201c>failing<u+201d><u+2014>mr. trump has mostly tried to sound positive and inclusive. meanwhile, those who spent the 2016 campaign decrying mr. trump for his temperament and fascist tendencies are now exhibiting precisely those traits. the most recent outburst came friday night, when mike pence and some of his family took in a performance of the broadway hit <u+201c>hamilton.<u+201d> having entered the theater to a mixture of cheers and boos, the vice president-elect at the end of the performance found himself lectured from the stage by the cast. lin-manuel miranda, who both wrote the musical and starred in it, tweeted that he was <u+201c>proud<u+201d> of the moment, which he characterized as <u+201c>leading with love.<u+201d> as mr. pence pointed out, cast members have a right to say what they please. but the rest of us likewise have a right to note how boorish and self-congratulatory they were. then there are the ceos such as grubhub <u+2019>s matt maloney, who sent out an email to employees suggesting that those who agreed with the president-elect should resign. mr. maloney later backtracked, denying that his line about <u+201c>you have no place here<u+201d> was aimed at trump supporters. plainly the markets thought otherwise: his stock took a beating. he wasn<u+2019>t the only ceo with, uh, a temperament not suited for the job. another ceo has been sacked for making death threats against mr. trump on social media. meanwhile, sophie theallet, who runs her own fashion label, released a statement declaring that, such is her opposition to discrimination, she will never make a dress for the new first lady, melania trump. <u+201c>i encourage my fellow designers to do the same,<u+201d> ms. theallet says, right after a line calling for <u+201c>respect for all lifestyles.<u+201d> in short, since the election many in the anti-trump crowd are finding their inner donald. one result is the spectacle of a press corps that abandoned even the pretense of objectivity during the campaign behaving as though the president-elect<u+2019>s decision to have a steak dinner without telling them<u+2014>at a very public restaurant<u+2014>portends some kind of constitutional crisis. the rest of the coverage isn<u+2019>t much better. consider a recent story from politico headlined <u+201c>trump lashes out at accusations of transition chaos.<u+201d> the evidence for <u+201c>lashing out<u+201d>? a tweet in which mr. trump said <u+201c>it is going so smoothly.<u+201d> yet it<u+2019>s unfair to single out politico. if you want to get a good picture of what a herd of independent minds looks like, just plug <u+201c>trump lashes out<u+201d> or <u+201c>trump lashing out<u+201d> into google news. not to mention the other great switcheroo of 2016: on political violence and acceptance of the election results. throughout the campaign, america was routinely warned that mr. trump was the second coming of hitler. so how is it that since the election the actual brownshirts<u+2014>folks who go around beating up others for their views<u+2014>so often turn out to be targeting trump supporters? or that thousands of protesters are today marching around with signs proclaiming their refusal to acknowledge mr. trump as the legitimately elected president? since election day americans have seen the trashing of cars and shops that now constitute modern expressions of tolerance. in addition, the flesh-and-blood victims of the love trumps hate beatdowns include a 15-year-old high-school student wearing a <u+201c>make america great again<u+201d> hat in rockville, md., a 49-year-old chicago man dragged out of his car, and a 21-year-old arab-american university student chased down and hit from behind at a black lives matter rally in el cajon, calif. all the while, the president-elect continues his twitter <u+201c>rants.<u+201d> here are a few of the most recent: <u+201c>i have always had a good relationship with chuck schumer. he is far smarter than harry r and has the ability to get things done. good news!<u+201d> <u+201c>general james <u+2018>mad dog<u+2019> mattis, who is being considered for secretary of defense, was very impressive yesterday. a true general<u+2019>s general!<u+201d> <u+201c>i settled the trump university lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as president i have to focus on our country.<u+201d> guess it depends on what you mean by <u+201c>lashes out.<u+201d> write to mcgurn@wsj.com.
anti-trumpers channel their inner donald - wsj
william mcgurn