Toward the end of his final State of the Union address, US president Barack Obama worked in a rejoinder to the Muslim-baiting that’s animated much of the 2016 political season. Without naming any particular political figure, he made a forceful case that bellicose talk targeting minorities does America a disservice. “When politicians insult Muslims,” he said, “that’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world.”