Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. Follow her on Twitter @fridaghitis . The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. Read more opinion on CNN.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, they hyperventilate, crossed a line when speaking about the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

To be sure, Schumer did cross a line with a statement he delivered vociferously at a rally outside the Supreme Court. He has already apologized for his choice of words. But the reaction, particularly across the Republican spectrum, reveals an outrage that appears distinctly selective and sounds much more partisan than principled.

Schumer made the offending statement outside, while the court was hearing an abortion case. Schumer sought to rouse the gathered faithful, intoning, "I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."

The statement went too far, but anyone who claims Schumer was inciting the crowd to violence is ignoring his track record. Schumer is hardly the violent type.

This was rhetorical overreach coming -- for a change -- from a Democratic leader.

JUST WATCHED Chuck Schumer condemned after abortion comments Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chuck Schumer condemned after abortion comments 03:06

In a exceedingly rare statement, the chief justice shot back, "threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter."

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Judging by media coverage, few appear to have noticed Schumer's words, before Roberts issued his statement. But the rebuke opened the gates to feigned outrage by the President and his acolytes—feigned, I would argue, because their tender ears have somehow survived much, much worse, from the object of their devotion.

Trump, that champion of decorum, defender of the sanctity of the rule of law, tweeted, "There can be few things worse in a civilized, law abiding nation," than Schumer's threats. "He must pay a severe price for this!" He called for Schumer to be "arrested or impeached." Trumpist airwaves and social media exploded with agreement.

Mitch McConnell quickly prepared to denounce Schumer on the Senate floor, and on Thursday did just that. Defending without a hint of irony the need for "judicial independence." (Even Schumer seemed to recognize that he went too far, saying earlier that day: " I should not have used the words I used yesterday. They didn't come out the way I intended to...My point was that there would be political consequences, political consequences for President (Donald) Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court, with the newly confirmed justices, stripped away a woman's right to choose.")

Curiously, McConnell and top Republicans seem to have missed the multiple instances when Trump assailed not only judges and others parts of the judiciary, but also America's very system of government.

Anyone who has been paying attention has been watching it for years. Where were their complaints?

The Brennan Center for Justice, a democracy think tank, says in a resource paper, "Trump has displayed a troubling pattern of attacking judges and the court," a pattern that, "threatens our entire system of government." They've kept track here

JUST WATCHED Chief Justice Roberts has a tough dilemma (2019) Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chief Justice Roberts has a tough dilemma (2019) 02:43

The examples are too many to recount. During his presidential campaign, he insulted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tweeting "Her mind is shot -- resign!" He has gone after other judges time and again.

And in a 2016 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Trump claimed an Indiana-born judge was incapable of making a fair judgement in a class-action lawsuit concerning students who said they had been defrauded by Trump University because the judge was "Mexican." An incredulous Tapper replied, "Because he's Latino?"

Trump, now pitiably anguished about Schumer's assault on a "law abiding nation," has himself attacked the rule of law in this country incessantly, most recently toying with the separation of powers by allegedly interfering with the Justice Department's work in the case of his friend Roger Stone— via Twitter and also via his attorney general --a move so egregious that it caused the four trial prosecutors for the government to resign from the case.

Trump also attacked the judge in that case by name, and then went after the jury forewoman. When the most powerful man in the world threatens a private citizen doing her civic duty, it undermines the rule of law in a new and sinister way.

But Schumer, Trump and his defenders claim, seemed to be making a threat of violence against the justices. That interpretation is absurdly far-fetched. Anyone who thinks that's what happened and is outraged by it, can only escape the label of hypocrite by expressing at least as much outrage when the President makes remarks that might well be interpreted as a call for violence.

In 2016, newspapers around the world concluded that Trump was calling for the violence against Hillary Clinton during a campaign pitch to gun right supporters, when he said, "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second-amendment people, maybe there is." The second amendment, of course, is the one about guns.

The President has a track record of praising those who engage in violence and using language that appears to incite his followers to violence. Indeed last year, ABC News compiled a list of 36 criminal cases in which Trump's name was invoked in connection with "violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault" that made it into the court system.

Perhaps Chief Justice Roberts and others who are worried about perceived threats to the safety of judges should have said something when Trump warned that a judge's decision was endangering the country when he ruled against him on immigration. "The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists," he told his millions of Twitter followers, who might have concluded they need to protect the country from the judge.

No, he didn't say the judge would "reap the whirlwind," as Schumer did. That particular threat first came from none other than Justice Brett Kavanaugh. During his confirmation hearings, when he came under fire over an alleged sexual assault during his youth, Kavanaugh made an open threat, just as he was about to obtain enormous power. "You sowed the wind," Kavanaugh said ominously, "and the country will reap the whirlwind."

All political leaders should wield their words carefully. Everyone should treat the courts with respect. But the real threat to the rule of law, to the judiciary, to America's system of government, is not coming from Chuck Schumer. The threat is the President and all the people infected with the virus of hypocrisy, who give him a pass every day, but now put on a parody of outrage.