Bad vibes. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

We were already freaked out by the unhinged, hate-filled spectacle of the Tampa brawl, with its jeering, frenzied, cretinous mobs holding bonkers signs - "Seth Rich," "Blacks For Trump," "Space Force Equals Full Disclosure," anyone? - and screeching at CNN's Jim Acosta, son of a Cuban refugee, for doing his job. But then it spread, virus-like. Trump loved the bedlam so much he posted video, Sarah Sanders defended the assaults on Acosta as "free speech," and then doubled down Thursday on her cowardice, refusing to say that lest we forget our noble, vital free press is not in fact "an enemy of the people."

Then Sean Hannity - pot/kettle alert - plunged into the ugly act. He sneered he was sorry Acosta's "precious feelings are hurt" before attacking him for his "abusively biased coverage." "You're not reporting facts - you're giving your opinion," he blathered, before suggesting that rather than focus on "your anti-Trump rage, maybe look inward...find your Zen. Analyze objectively the overwhelming, nonstop, hysterical coverage against the president."

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Yes. Well. About those "facts" and objectively analyzing them. Given we too are fans of facts, do let's look at them. We can start with Acosta, who fired back at Hannity as "a propagandist for profit, peddling lies every night (and) injecting poison into the nation's political bloodstream." Hannity, of course, has plenty of vile company, from Dear Leader, "the world's most prodigious liar," down and we do mean down to his blindly devoted, increasingly hateful supporters, 91% of whom, it turns out, will believe anything - that Democrats want to get rid of law enforcement, say, or that you need an ID to buy groceries.

Just in time, or maybe too late, the Fact-Checkers at the Washington Post have come back from vacation to remind us about facts and lies and how wide the chasm now yawns. To date, we have received 4,229 "Trumpian claims" - hell, let's just call 'em lies - which have doubled over all. In his first 100 days, he averaged 4.9 lies a day; the numbers have climbed to almost 8, and in June and July they soared to 16 a day. The abuse of not just the truth, but the press, has likewise surged; it's harshly illustrated in a compilation of Acosta being harassed and bullied at other "rallies." Perhaps the most chilling is a mindless guy screaming over and over again, "Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!" Sweet Jesus. Don't let him/them drown you out.

WATCH: Supporters of President Trump Chant ‘CNN Sucks’ During Jim Acosta’s Live Spot at Florida Rally pic.twitter.com/2fwQQRVsQf