

Donald Trump pauses while speaking during the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

For years now we’ve heard about the divisive and unproductive rhetoric plaguing progress in Washington.

There may finally be an antidote: Donald Trump.

That’s right. Hear us out.

Trump as bulldozer, plowing down anyone who dare stand in his path, has created a common villain in this early chapter of the presidential campaign. Democrats and Republicans still do not agree on virtually any policy issues, but they are unified in their condemnation of Trump’s bombast.

Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders, Lindsey Graham, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal. They are among the long list of Trump critics. A list that after last weekend has grown.

Republicans were slow to confront Trump after his incendiary remarks about Mexican immigrants last month. But after he attacked one of their own on Saturday — questioning Sen. John McCain’s heroism as a prisoner of war in Vietnam — there’s broad (though not universal, see: Ted Cruz) agreement that for whatever harsh commentary has taken over Washington in recent years Trump’s is beyond the pale.

Clinton rebuked Trump for insulting a “genuine war hero.” (Though she did get in a dig at the rest of the GOP field for not rushing to criticize Trump sooner.)

Rubio tweeted:

America’s POWs deserve much better than to have their service questioned by the offensive rantings of Donald Trump — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 18, 2015

Sanders tweeted:

They are all heroes. pic.twitter.com/39PjRzr4PE — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 20, 2015

Graham called on voters in the early primary states to tell Trump, “You’re fired.”

The Huffington Post moved its coverage of Trump to its entertainment section. The Wall Street Journal, in a damning editorial, called Trump’s campaign “nonsense.”

Still, Trump is tapping into a real frustration among a sect of the American electorate that is sick of Washington politicians. And until Trump implodes, Cruz is not co-sponsoring the denounce Trump movement. Cruz, though nowhere near Trump’s level, is familiar with being the outcast who rallies other politicians in bipartisan unity. (Remember the moderate GOP revolt after the 2013 government shutdown?)

And, to underscore the lengths to which politicians are expressing their Trump disgust, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) assessed Cruz’s continued support for the candidate this way:

There's something unseemly about Cruz following Trump around like a lost puppy,hoping to get his leftovers when he finally flames out. — Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) July 20, 2015

Okay, so that’s pretty partisan.

But generally, Trump has achieved what so many promise but so few deliver: across-party-aisle agreement.