Give one example.
Steven A. Douglas was a whole foot shorter than Lincoln. Is there an example of Lincoln viciously ridiculing Douglas's height during their debates?
As he began forging his political ambitions, Lincoln recognized the power of words to weaken and even destroy his opponents, and so he started to attack them with powerful volleys of criticism and mockery. Upon provocation at a political gathering in 1840, Lincoln mimicked and ridiculed his opponent, Jess Thomas, to uproarious cheering of the crowd. Thomas, who was present at the event, was reduced to tears, and for years afterwards, the people referred to it as “the skinning of Thomas.”