Leftist Outlets Stoke Fear of Second Trump Administration
The Washington Post, New York Times and Atlantic, leftist media outlets, are spreading fear of a second Trump Administration, as former president Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden by a significant margin in polls.
Robert Kagan, Editor-at-Large of the Washington Post, wrote a Friday op-ed entitled “A Trump dictatorship seems increasingly inevitable.” The Washington Post Today’s WorldView newsletter published an excerpt on Monday by Ishaan Tharroor entitled “The Fear of A Looming Trump Diktatorship”.
Kagan wrote: “Within a few months, we went from feeling relatively secure about our democracy, to just a couple of steps and a few months away from the possibility that a dictatorship could occur.”
He said he was worried that, if Trump won back the White House again, he would disregard the Twenty-Second Amendment and seek a third presidential term.
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What about the desire to be reelected, which is a major factor in determining presidents’ decisions? Trump may not need or want a third term. But if he decided to seek one as he has indicated in the past, would the 22nd Amendment prevent him from becoming president for life if he refused? Why would anyone believe that the 22nd Amendment is more sacred than any other part in the Constitution to a man such as Trump or, perhaps even more important, his loyal supporters?
Charlie Savage of the New York Times, Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman wrote a piece on Monday arguing that “a second Trump presidency may be more radical than his first.”
They claim that Trump’s checks would be “weaker” and he would get a better chance to implement “more radical policy plans”.
The trio wrote
In a second Trump presidency, it would not be so much about his character but his environment. The forces that contained Trump’s autocratic tendencies during his first term – staff who saw their jobs as restraining, some congressional Republicans willing to criticize him or oppose him on occasion, and a partisan balance in the Supreme Court which occasionally ruled against it – would be weaker.
The more extreme ideas and plans for Mr. Trump and his advisors to serve a second term will have a better chance of becoming a reality.
The Atlantic announced on Monday that they will be launching a new special issue which “warns about the grave and extreme consequences that would occur if the former President Trump won in 2024.” They also argue that Trump and Trumpism are an existential danger to America and the ideas that drive it.
Eight essays were published Monday and four will be released each day until Friday. In a piece titled “The Danger Ahead” published on Monday, David Frum wrote, “If Trump wins the election, he will commit his first crime of his new term at noon of Inauguration day: His oath of defending the Constitution of the United States would be a lie.”
Frum adds:
A second Trump term could plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis worse than anything since the Civil War. Even during the Great Depression and the turbulent 1960s, the United States had a functioning government led by the president. The government can’t function with a criminal indicted or convicted as its leader. The president is an outlaw or on the way to being an outlaw. To survive, he’d have to destroy the rule-of-law.
The collection will include pieces such as “China Will Get Stronger,” Extremists Emboldened,” or “Civil Rights Undone.”
Trump’s allies criticized the stories on X in a series on posts Monday.
Donald Trump Jr. shared a photo of Biden’s infamous “MAGA Republicans” speech.
Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican Senate Candidate, retweeted Trump Jr. and wrote, “Authoritarian dictators in every Banana Republic in the 3rd World use the state’s power to try to imprison their political opponents.”
He added, “The only president of the United States who has done this in my lifetime is Joe Biden.”
Sen. J.D. Vance (R – OH) wrote on his blog that articles calling Trump a “dictator” are all about legitimizing violent and illegal conduct as the election approaches.
“Everyone should take a chill pill,” said he.
According to reports, Democrats are concerned about Biden’s chances in a possible rematch against Trump during the general election. RealClearPolitics data shows that Biden’s approval rating at Black Friday was lower than any of his three previous predecessors including Trump. He also trails Trump by 1.7 points in the RealClearPolitics average polling and is behind in many of the most recent swing state polls.
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