But Biden also fatally violated trust in the system. His cynicism emerged more slowly, as his team repeatedly refused to engage with the question of his cognitive fitness. The signs were there for months, from failing to proactively position his VP as his ready successor, to failing to encourage primary participation to engage and encourage his base. But it wasn’t obvious until the debate, when his disastrous performance revealed the plain truth of his condition to millions of Americans, and the aftermath, when he ensconced himself with advisors and refused to leave or engage on his condition in good faith. The message to the public became, loud and clear: I’m the only candidate to beat Trump, and it’s worth anything, even repeated violations of the will of the people, including my own base, to make that happen. The ends had come to fully justify the means.