Evil is a huge topic, but since some influential figures on the American right have been using the term more frequently lately to describe those on the left, it’s important to look at the word in our current political context.
The straight white man who has been appointed by President Trump as Deputy Director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, called people on the left “evil” in the Dan Bongino Show and podcast on September 21, 2023: “The left is evil. I need you to understand that there’s a difference here. It’s not just that they’re wrong on politics. They are evil.” 
The quote has been aired numerous times in the run-up to starting his new job on March 17, 2025.
On another front, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a very conservative appointee of Trump’s in his first term, has drawn ire from the right for voting with Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal Justices against Trump. The Trump team had appealed two recent cases to the high court when federal appeals courts ruled against him. Conservative activist, “male supremacist” and rape promoter Mike Cernovich posted on X about Justice Barrett, “She is evil, chosen solely because she checked identity politics boxes. Another DEI hire. It always ends badly.” Cernovich’s assessment coincides with the Trump war against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives: Barrett is a woman.
Unsurprisingly, we can find similar examples from Trump (this invective arguably started with Trump anyway). In October 2024, he too called Democrats evil: “They’re Marxists and communists and fascists, and they’re sick… The Pelosis, these people, they’re so sick and they’re so evil.”
These examples are important not only because of the vitriol of the attacks and their personal nature but also because Bongino and Trump are paid by American taxpayers; in essence they and like-minded government officials who are denigrating left-leaning Americans as evil are verbally disparaging citizens who are paying their salaries and whom they should be serving. This is an extremely dangerous trend for our democratic republic: such rhetoric can lead, and arguably has led, to violence.
Some biblical passages and definitions
So, what is evil, and is it legitimate to call certain people evil? Bongino, from a right-leaning Christian background, asserts the reality of concepts that might be viewed from a more abstract lens: evil, demons and demon energy. He is not wrong about the traditional Christian belief in demons and Satan and their evil nature. This belief is reflected in the ancient St. Michael prayer: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
Since Christianity emerged out of Judaism, and many Christians quote Jewish scripture (the Old Testament), biblical passages can help us learn what our ancestors meant by evil and demons and the ways that many of us understand the meaning today.
- The book of Proverbs provides a number of contrasts between evil and righteousness. Evil (translated sometimes as wickedness) is equated with ill-gotten gains (10:2), the violence in the evil person’s heart (10:6); one who does not walk with integrity (10:9); treachery and greed (11:6); one who despises his neighbor (11:12); cruelty (12:17); deceitful counsels (12:5); a lying tongue (12:19) and lying lips (12:22).
- Matthew 15:19: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” (NAS)
- Mark 6:13: “They [disciples of Jesus] cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” (NRSV)
- 2 Cor 11:13-15. “For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.” (NRSV)
- 1 Peter 5:8: “Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” (NRSV)
In addition, the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church contains the baptismal covenant, which is based on biblical teachings and asks Christians to “persevere in resisting evil” and to repent and “return to the Lord” when they “fall into sin.” A clue as to what evil, returning to the Lord and falling into sin mean comes in the next two tenets of the covenant: a practicing Christian is someone who serves Christ in all persons, loves one’s neighbor as oneself, strives for justice and peace among all people, and respects the dignity of every human being.
Evil, then, by implication is the opposite of what Christians promise (with God’s help) in the covenant:
- not serving others,
- despising one’s neighbor,
- disparaging justice,
- making war instead of peace, and
- disrespecting fellow human beings.
While much more can be (and has been) said about evil and evildoers, we can see from this brief overview that Judaism and Christianity, generally speaking, define evil in behavioral terms – what people do or do not do. To put it differently, there is little in these examples that is especially theological or ideological: it is not primarily about right belief or correct thinking.
This can become a problem, however, when one links beliefs and thoughts with behavior. If one believes that God or Jesus favors people who believe in them in a certain way and condemns those who do not – no matter how good or positive those people’s behavior might be – there is a strong possibility that the “believers” will treat the “non-believers” badly – with shunning, verbal abuse, hate speech and even violence. 
The Nazis in Germany leading up to World War II had as their essential belief system that the “Aryan race” was superior and that Jews, Slavs and others should be annihilated. Similarly, Neo-Nazis in our own time believe and act accordingly.
Our society (so far…) is based on the rule of law, that is, behavior. In an American court of law, evidence for a defendant’s thoughts and beliefs might come into play; the prosecution might want to show that the defendant had a motive to commit a crime. But motive is not required to convict someone; rather, it is fact-based evidence that juries must consider. That a defendant might have thought or believed something that might be considered “evil” by others is irrelevant (e.g., “my wife deserves to die because she cheated on me”); the provable fact that the husband killed his wife is what leads to imprisonment.
Psychological considerations
Homicide detectives, prosecutors, forensic psychologists, judges and many others in law enforcement are very acquainted with evil – and often say so publicly. So are victims of ruthless criminals, murderers, serial killers, con artists, and so on. The suffering that victims endure and succumb to is indescribable. Most of us can probably agree that criminals who so egregiously break the social contract and inflict unspeakable harm on others can be deemed “evil,” perhaps even demons or devils.
There are, unfortunately, many others among us who inflict harm on fellow human beings but are not arrested, are not jailed, or even break the law. There are people in our lives – neighbors, colleagues, family members, and acquaintances – who wreak tremendous havoc for years or decades, leaving a trail of pain and tragedy in their wake. It is usually easy to see that such people have no empathy for other human beings, exhibit no remorse, or betray any evidence of a conscience. Additional characteristics of these “bad actors” often include pathological lying, superficial charm, shallowness of emotions, impulsivity, and irresponsibility.
When such a long-term behavioral pattern of harm toward and disregard for others is evident, we can perhaps conclude that they have Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). As we have noted elsewhere, this disorder has been applied to Donald Trump; others in our midst show similar traits; and we can legitimately view Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin, for example, as betraying APD traits.
Are these people evil? If we can determine that someone has APD and can well be classified as a psychopath or sociopath, are we also correct in believing that person to be evil? If yes, we are perhaps stating that an evil person is defined by his or her aberrant behavior over time. This seems legitimate – although the ramifications of that stance then bring up larger issues of law, the social contract, “punishment,” the death penalty, etc. (which we do not have time or space to discuss here).
What we are witnessing in our present context, however, is different. Trump, Dan Bongino, Mike Cernovich, and others on the right maintain that a person is evil based to a large extent on his/her beliefs, gender, political stances, sexual orientation, race or lifestyle. 
Bongino, in his NPR interview, did not stop at generalities; he showed an example of “what one of [those with demon energy] looks like” – a clip of Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic Congresswoman from Washington State. One must ask what Rep. Jayapal did – what her actions and behavior were – to deserve the ire of Bongino, other than be a Democrat, speak her mind, vote in certain ways, do her job for her constituents (who reelected her in 2024) and, perhaps most significantly in the mind of a white nationalist, be a woman of color.
Pertinent questions
Now that we have laid out the basics of how we might define evil – and how people we might categorize as evil tend to behave – we can pose some important questions. If most of us want to avoid evil, some humble suggestions are offered.
First, when Trump, Bongino, Cernovich and others refer to Democrats and left-leaning Americans as evil, where is the behavioral evidence? What destructive, hurtful behavior have those on the left exhibited toward others? When we consider the fact that the vast majority of political violence of the past few years is caused by right-leaning actors, how can Trump et al justify their criticism and name-calling?
The main reasons the right gives are very self-serving: prosecutors and their staff members have investigated Trump’s crimes (and, in many cases, won); investigators have failed to find significant fault with Trump’s enemies such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden; judges have ruled against Trump and other lawbreakers in his circle; Gen. Mark Milley called Trump a “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country” after working with Trump up close; and Justice Barrett is a woman who voted against Trump in a significant case.
In short, the right is using their enormous bully pulpit, power and wealth to disparage liberals and left-leaning Americans as evil without evidence. Thus we need to press them for that evidence and call them out for totally irresponsible rhetoric that undermines our democracy and the rule of law and that promotes violence.
What groups of people might most of us consider evil?
- Elected officials (like Trump) who break the law and disregard court decisions in ways that greatly harm citizens.
- People who foment violence or commit violent acts.
- Lawmakers and others who have enormous power who constantly lie and spread disinformation through their speech, social media, etc. (Recall that pathological lying is one of the traits of someone with APD.)
As far as significant hurtful actions might be, various rulings made by judges and SCOTUS Justices (e.g., the Dobbs decision) that greatly harm innocent Americans could also be classified as evil, even if those individuals themselves may not display evil behavioral patterns over time.
Moving forward
What can and should those of us do to fight the evil we see around us?
- Be aware of the people around us – and people running for office – who exhibit signs of APD. Educating ourselves and each other about this condition is a first step.
- Avoid such people as much as possible. Shun them as friends, do not date or marry them, and be very cautious if you must work with them.
- Do not vote for them for any office whatsoever. Remember that they have no conscience or empathy; they truly care for no one other than themselves so do not truly represent their fellow citizens.
- Have courage when possible, call out the lies, and stand up to bullying. Protect ourselves at the same time, however; do not become a victim.
Evil is a sad fact of life, and combating it can be considered very important for the common good. 
We need to be cognizant of our definitions – not everyone with whom we disagree is evil! One can argue that there are many more good people – in our country and around the world – than evil ones. It is unfortunate that it only takes a small number of evil people, and a small number of evil acts, to wreak havoc on everyone. Those who are good need to be strong, band together with like-minded people, and act courageously.