The use and misuse of the word 'ideology'

The word "ideology" traces its origins to the French Enlightenment. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to "defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology."

The word "ideology" has become a fixture in American political rhetoric, invoked by leaders to cast opponents' beliefs as dangerous, stupid or unfounded. But it wasn't always this way.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)