Former President Barack Obama used his platform at the Democratic National Convention to assail sitting Republican President Donald Trump as a threat to “our democracy.” Trump responded, IN ALL CAPS, via Twitter. If you like history hot and in your face, like a pizza straight out of the oven, 2020 always delivers. Last night was no exception.

Mr. Obama’s address left little room for misunderstanding. He delivered his remarks in Philadelphia, from a museum devoted to the founding, with a backdrop formed by the text of the U.S. Constitution. This was not a night for subtlety.

Obama characterized Mr. Trump as failing in the essential tasks of the presidency, to protect the safety and welfare of the American people. Instead, Obama claimed, Trump has abused his power to benefit himself and his friends, turn the military against protestors, and undermine freedom of the press.

Mr. Obama implied that no one can step into the White House with a sure grasp of the job. Good presidents grow into the position, but Mr. Trump has not met the challenge.

I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.

But he never did. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.

Obama did eventually endorse Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and he closed with an eloquent push against cynicism. While the last part of the speech deserves a spotlight, the portions that brushed aside the norms of presidential behavior will get the most attention.

Mr. Trump responded, but not against Obama’s charges. Instead, he challenged Obama’s late endorsement and he linked the former president to the investigations into the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia.

There is much to unpack in President Obama’s speech. He rightly chastises Trump for failing to grow into the office. The promised pivot toward a sober administration never happened and it never will. Trump’s rhetoric, and many of his actions, are self-absorbed, even for a politician. Respected people who both worked for Trump and were admired by the conservatives of days gone by–John Bolton, John Kelly, and Jim Mattis–paint disturbing pictures of a floundering president mismatched with his job. Mr. Trump’s handling of the pandemic has only enhanced their criticisms.

Still, elements of Obama’s attack are overblown. Most of Mr. Trump’s actions in office are well within the parameters of center-right American government. His approach to taxes, regulation, and the judiciary would have been carried out by most Republican presidents in the same position politically. Trump’s rhetoric is often undemocratic, especially when he floats the possibility of postponing the election, says Post Office funding is considered in light of its ability to handle mail-in ballots, or continually portrays the media as a public enemy. His actions don’t always follow through. That should not obviate the damage of the rhetoric, but words and deeds differ.

Other aspects of Mr. Obama’s assault could have been hurled at Obama himself. He was not exactly a custodian of the Constitution when he pushed executive authority to its limits and beyond. His refusal to enforce federal law against millions of illegal immigrants effectively legislated from the Oval Office. Obamacare was delayed, misapplied, reapplied, and used to harass religious organizations. Obama’s I.R.S. targeted conservative organizations. The Obama Administration prosecuted and investigated members of the press more than any administration since Nixon. While Trump’s rhetoric against the press has been destructive and corrosive, Obama’s actions quietly undermined the First Amendment in a different way.