In any political moment, where the rage collects, where the opposition rallies tells you a lot. Behind Matt Gaetz, the liberals I know have been far angrier about the choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services than any of Donald Trump’s other picks.

Which is strange because the distance between most Democrats and R.F.K. Jr. is a lot smaller than between them and most of the people Trump or the Republicans are naming. R.F.K. Jr. was a Democrat until — what, the end of 2023? And yes, he is a vaccine skeptic, part of a broader set of beliefs that corporations are poisoning our health to line their pockets.

But that used to be a recognizable wing of the Democratic Party. I grew up around that Democratic Party. And R.F.K. Jr. holds a lot of positions most Democrats do hold: like, he’s pro-choice. Who would have thought Trump would name a pro-choice Health and Human Services secretary? My point is not to dismiss or downplay the danger R.F.K. Jr. could cause. My point is not that I want him at H.H.S. — I don’t. I want an Operation Warp Speed — for everything.

Operation Warp Speed to me was the one policy you simply could not deny that Donald Trump got right. You had to hand it to him. Saved a huge number of lives at a very low cost. That is the one policy Trump is razing to the ground and disowning, salting the earth over.

I think his choice is a disaster. But both the pick and the reaction are revealing as to what the parties are really about now.

Democrats are angrier about R.F.K. Jr than they would have been about a well-credentialed pro-life, anti-Medicaid pick — a normal Republican, the kind of person Ron DeSantis would have named. And they’re angrier because Democrats right now prioritize respect for institutions and expertise: In this house, we believe science is real. And under Trump, Republicans have become the opposite kind of party: In this house, we believe science is woke and corrupted by D.E.I.