EDITORIAL: Disturbing hostility

Well, after all that — the hysteria, protests, threats and pressure tactics — the GOP electors stood firm Monday and officially put Donald Trump in the White House.

Yes, a handful of electors did go rogue — and abandoned Hillary Clinton. Five, in fact. Just two who were pledged to Mr. Trump didn’t follow through. Oh, the irony.

In the end, Mr. Trump won 304 electoral votes to 227 for Mrs. Clinton. The remaining seven electoral ballots were spread among five other people, including one for Native American activist Faith Spotted Eagle.

One for the history books.

“The election represents a movement that millions of hard-working men and women across the country stood behind and made possible,” said a statement issued by Mr. Trump after the final Electoral College tally. “With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans.”

Despite the president-elect’s conciliatory tone, many Democrats remain mired in the denial, anger or depression stages, still far from acceptance. On Monday, professional crank and America hater Michael Moore, who offered to pay the fines of faithless Trump electors, tweeted, “He’s not president for four and a half weeks. Next idea?”

A joke, most likely. Or is it? Who could truly be surprised if another hare-brained progressive scheme to deny Mr. Trump the presidency surfaced between now and the Jan. 20 inauguration? Perhaps Vladimir Putin can help.

In the real world, however, Mr. Trump will be the nation’s next chief executive. Not everyone has to embrace his election or pledge allegiance to his policies, appointments and agenda — or even hope that he succeeds. It’s still a free country in which dissent, dialogue and robust debate must not only be tolerated but encouraged.

But those who continue to undermine the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election show a disturbing hostility to the constitutional principles upon which this great nation was founded.