First Lady Melania Trump delivers remarks at the International Women of Courage Award Ceremony Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)

When you think people can’t go lower with their TDS, some still seem to be able to find a way to do it.

Case in point: Never Trumper Rick Wilson, who appears frequently on CNN and MSNBC.

Now Wilson has said and done a lot of puerile things to attack the president.

But he set a new low on Wednesday night with this vile tweet. The White House announced that First Lady Melania Trump would be doing Wuhan coronavirus PSAs. That set off the “principled conservative” Wilson, who then appeared to wish that the First Lady “be infected” in a riff on her “BeBest” campaign.

#BeInfected https://t.co/TZD35uaEvq

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 19, 2020

Naturally he got a huge backlash as well he should have.

The Hill’s Joe Concha ripped Wilson, summarized it. “This is the most insidious & hateful rhetoric of anyone who exists in political punditry. Rick Wilson is wishing Coronavirus on Melania Trump. It doesn’t matter if the wish is aimed at a First Lady, or a doctor, a teacher, a policewoman. It is despicable. He deserves no platform.” Former CNN contributor Steve Cortes told him he was “a disgusting creep.” “What is wrong with you?” GOP spokesperson Elizabeth Harrington asked. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said, “Delete this Americans are dying.”

Wilson finally tried to backpedal after a severe backlash, claiming he didn’t really mean anything by it.

ANYONE who thought I was wishing COVID on Melania is fuckwit.

You know full well it was a riff on "BeBest" and it's utter failure in the face of her husband's continued role as Global Troll in Chief and National Bully.

That said, fap to your fake-ass outrage all you like.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 19, 2020

But here’s the problem.

This isn’t the first, the second or even the 57th vile thing he’s spewed out. This is the principled conservative who has preached to those who were not “Never Trump” about how much more aware he is because of his Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Yet he himself is far more crass, far from principled and every bit the vile little man he tries to paint Trump as.

So are CNN and MSNBC cool with these comments?

As my colleague Streiff wrote in December, Wilson is one of the folks behind The Lincoln Project a PAC which is about defeating Trump and moderate Republicans like Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) who are facing tough re-election campaigns. In other words, “conserving conservatism” by electing Democrats. Does the group stand by his repeatedly vile comments? Will they disavow this comment about Melania Trump?

The group also includes the execrable George Conway as well, so perhaps that’s an answer in and of itself.

But if it wasn’t already clear how despicable and full of themselves this group is, this ad should clear that right up.

In the face of a profound threat to America, what kind of leadership do we expect and deserve?https://t.co/2EHU0nqro6@gtconway3d@reedgalen@NHJennifer@madrid_mike@SteveSchmidtSES@RonSteslow@jwgop@TheRickWilson#CountryOverParty pic.twitter.com/uiHOTquf0k

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) March 18, 2020

So in a middle of a pandemic, which the whole country is working against, with even people like Trump and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) able to come together, these folks are still rolling with their Trump hate, comparing him to a virus.

When people’s lives are at stake, they call the president a virus? This is on what they concentrate?

These are the people claiming they want to defeat Trump “bind up [the nation’s] wounds” like Lincoln and “move forward together.”

Of course, that’s a bit hard when you’re calling people “tin-toothed rubes,” as Wilson has referred to Trump supporters.

Here’s an example of one rant, from the Washington Examiner:

“He knows that this is, you know, an administration defined by ignorance of the world, and so, that’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience. You know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump,” he said.

Wilson then impersonated Trump voters while speaking in a heavy Southern accent. “Donald Trump’s the smart one — and y’all elitists are dumb,” he said. During the segment, Wilson insinuated Trump voters reject geography, maps, spelling, math, and reading.

None of this is being like Lincoln.

Indeed Wilson, Conway and some of the others are far more comparable to Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln’s competitor for the presidency. Small, petty, yet celebrated by media for talking a lot while saying nothing and definitely on the wrong side in the interests of the nation.