Large numbers of left-leaning activists–most notably, Arab-Americans and trans activists–spent the last several years beating up liberals rather than reactionaries on social media. Why? Because the justice of their cause was so self-evident that the beliefs of hundreds of millions of people on the right side of the spectrum were not worthy of discussion, of course. The possibility that reactionaries might use their unpopular opinions to win power and make their lives much worse seems never to have occurred to them.
The election was primarily lost on inflation, but the division over Gaza and the trans issue didn’t help. As a result, we have a president who is openly musing about ethnic cleansing in Gaza and issuing a blizzard of orders attempting to deny trans people medical treatment.
Such is the wisdom of making the perfect the enemy of the good.