The panty-wadding on the part of anti-Trump Republicans is reaching comic proportions. The latest example involves a fantasy based on a third-hand report. It all began when sportscaster Robert Costa gave a friend-of-a-friend third hand account in a tweet of something Donald Trump supposedly had said, off the record:

Spoke w/ a Trump friend this afternoon. Says Trump paying close attn to who in GOP is with him now, who is not. "Will remember," friend says

— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 11, 2016

I suppose there are politicians who forget their friends and enemies, but I can’t think of any, offhand.  Nevertheless, this was immediately taken as a sign that Trump was keeping an enemies list, like Richard Nixon. (For the moment, comparisons to Hitler have not been brought in with regard to this third hand account. But as far as liberals are concerned, Nixon is a pretty close substitute.) So the hysteria on Twitter began:

Retweet if you agree it's a privilege and honor to be on @realDonaldTrump's enemies list. https://t.co/eEgpzI47LY

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 11, 2016

This is very, very un-American. It IS Mafia-like, and worse. Remember: This is America. Insist on your independence! https://t.co/Fu8PVDPpIi

— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) June 11, 2016

Is there an email address where I can register my position, lest I be missed? https://t.co/HvT7uBRugD

— Charles Murray (@charlesmurray) June 11, 2016

All three of these men are very smart, and I have admired their work in other circumstances. It pains me to see them react in a manner that is so hysterical.

Hat tip: Soopermexican, who adds:

He’s not making American “great again” – he’s making it into every pathetic despotic tyranny we see all over history.