Donald Trump said he would be a dictator on 'Day One.' Imagine if Joe Biden said the same. – Kansas Reflector
Former President Donald Trump and his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, were indicted on charges of solicitation of violation of oath of office by public officer in connection with trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A great way to find out if your brain has been picked by ideology is to perform the following thought experiment: Take a recent controversy involving someone you agree with politically and imagine it involved someone you despise politically.
For instance, consider former President Donald Trump’s recent delighted flirtation with the word “dictator.” During a recent televised town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said —
But wait. Let’s do the experiment in real time, right now. I’m going to relay the exchange as described in the Washington Post, changing only a few key details. For instance, I’m going to change the candidate, questioner and network. For all of you conservatives out there, just imagine that you somehow tuned into MSNBC on Tuesday night.
You see the following:
Rachel Maddow narrows her eyes as she studies Democratic President Joe Biden, then asks: “Under no circumstances — you are promising America tonight — you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
“Except for Day One,” Biden replies, winking. A college student in a “Free Palestine” T-shirt yells out “Yeah!”
“He’s going crazy!” Biden says. Maddow cocks her head and lowers her glasses to look at the incumbent Democrat.
“Except for Day One. Meaning?” she asks.
“I want to phase out fossil fuels, and I want to forgive student loan debt,” Biden says. The crowd applauds lustily.
“That’s not retribution,” Maddow replies with a grin.
“We love this gal,” Biden says of Maddow. “She says: ‘You’re not gonna be a dictator, are ya?’ I say: ‘No, no, no — other than Day One.’ ”
Allow me a prediction. Republicans would freak out if this exchange had occurred. Fox would feature wall-to-wall coverage. Aghast conservatives would fill social media with wrathful posts. The U.S. House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings immediately, possibly within hours.
– Clay Wirestone
Allow me a prediction. Republicans would freak out if this exchange had occurred. Fox would feature wall-to-wall coverage. Aghast conservatives would fill social media with wrathful posts. The U.S. House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings immediately, possibly within hours.
– Clay Wirestone
Allow me a prediction. Republicans would freak out if this exchange had occurred. Fox would feature wall-to-wall coverage. Aghast conservatives would fill social media with wrathful posts. The U.S. House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings immediately, possibly within hours.
In unison, they would declare that the United States could not stand to have someone who even joked about being a dictator in charge. They would accuse the president of falling further into already advanced dementia. And they would call on Democrats to join them in turning back this assault on our time-tested democratic republic. Anyone with eyes to see could understand the danger, they would declare.
Allow me to stop walloping this straw man for a second.
Obviously, these words, with a couple of exceptions, were uttered by Trump to Hannity. And while they raised alarms among Democrats, Republicans largely dismissed them.
But why? They would certainly take them seriously if they came from a political opponent. Why not take them seriously now?
Perhaps because the part of Trump has shown its willingness — nay, its determination — to to pursue power at all costs. Here in Kansas that has translated into a parade of shocking degradation in the Legislature. “Informational” hearings turn into actual hearings on bills, without members of the public being given a chance to comment. Leaders bar members of the press from the Senate floor, thereby dodging scrutiny as they twist arms and knock heads. Bills supported by healthy majorities go without a vote because those in power prefer the praise of special interest groups to helping their fellow Kansans.
GOP ad maker and Lincoln Project Rick Wilson told me what he saw at the beginning of Trump’s rise in 2015. It describes the Kansas of today to a T: “This was an assertively authoritarian movement. They wanted to use the power of government to achieve their ideological ends. That’s not conservative. They wanted to use the power of government to punish their enemies. That’s not conservative.”
No, the hardcore Republicans of Kansas haven’t quite become dictators. But they are more than happy to shape state government in an increasingly authoritarian, top-down direction.
This column, then, goes out to my readers who don’t work for Senate or House leadership and who don’t plan on pursuing higher office. You might be a hardcore, lifetime conservative. You might oppose abortion and support tax cuts. You might oppose social justice warriors and support law and order.
But will you support a man who promises to be dictator — even if it’s only for one day?
Editor at large Robert Kagan wrote a piece in the Washington Post that every American should read. I’ve highlighted it before, and I highlight it again today. In “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending,” Kagan points out that Trump will gain even more influence as he becomes the GOP presidential nominee.
“Votes are the currency of power in our system, and money follows, and by those measures, Trump is about to become far more powerful than he already is,” Kagan wrote. “The hour of casting about for alternatives is closing. The next phase is about people falling into line.”
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, responded by asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into Kagan for inciting an insurrection.
Will you follow Vance over the ledge? Will you take that plunge?
And have you prepared to swim through the water afterward?
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
by Clay Wirestone, Kansas Reflector
December 8, 2023
by Clay Wirestone, Kansas Reflector
December 8, 2023
A great way to find out if your brain has been picked by ideology is to perform the following thought experiment: Take a recent controversy involving someone you agree with politically and imagine it involved someone you despise politically.
For instance, consider former President Donald Trump’s recent delighted flirtation with the word “dictator.” During a recent televised town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said —
But wait. Let’s do the experiment in real time, right now. I’m going to relay the exchange as described in the Washington Post, changing only a few key details. For instance, I’m going to change the candidate, questioner and network. For all of you conservatives out there, just imagine that you somehow tuned into MSNBC on Tuesday night.
You see the following:
Rachel Maddow narrows her eyes as she studies Democratic President Joe Biden, then asks: “Under no circumstances — you are promising America tonight — you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
“Except for Day One,” Biden replies, winking. A college student in a “Free Palestine” T-shirt yells out “Yeah!”
“He’s going crazy!” Biden says. Maddow cocks her head and lowers her glasses to look at the incumbent Democrat.
“Except for Day One. Meaning?” she asks.
“I want to phase out fossil fuels, and I want to forgive student loan debt,” Biden says. The crowd applauds lustily.
“That’s not retribution,” Maddow replies with a grin.
“We love this gal,” Biden says of Maddow. “She says: ‘You’re not gonna be a dictator, are ya?’ I say: ‘No, no, no — other than Day One.’ ”
Allow me a prediction. Republicans would freak out if this exchange had occurred. Fox would feature wall-to-wall coverage. Aghast conservatives would fill social media with wrathful posts. The U.S. House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings immediately, possibly within hours.
– Clay Wirestone
– Clay Wirestone
Allow me a prediction. Republicans would freak out if this exchange had occurred. Fox would feature wall-to-wall coverage. Aghast conservatives would fill social media with wrathful posts. The U.S. House of Representatives would begin impeachment proceedings immediately, possibly within hours.
In unison, they would declare that the United States could not stand to have someone who even joked about being a dictator in charge. They would accuse the president of falling further into already advanced dementia. And they would call on Democrats to join them in turning back this assault on our time-tested democratic republic. Anyone with eyes to see could understand the danger, they would declare.
Allow me to stop walloping this straw man for a second.
Obviously, these words, with a couple of exceptions, were uttered by Trump to Hannity. And while they raised alarms among Democrats, Republicans largely dismissed them.
But why? They would certainly take them seriously if they came from a political opponent. Why not take them seriously now?
Perhaps because the part of Trump has shown its willingness — nay, its determination — to to pursue power at all costs. Here in Kansas that has translated into a parade of shocking degradation in the Legislature. “Informational” hearings turn into actual hearings on bills, without members of the public being given a chance to comment. Leaders bar members of the press from the Senate floor, thereby dodging scrutiny as they twist arms and knock heads. Bills supported by healthy majorities go without a vote because those in power prefer the praise of special interest groups to helping their fellow Kansans.
GOP ad maker and Lincoln Project Rick Wilson told me what he saw at the beginning of Trump’s rise in 2015. It describes the Kansas of today to a T: “This was an assertively authoritarian movement. They wanted to use the power of government to achieve their ideological ends. That’s not conservative. They wanted to use the power of government to punish their enemies. That’s not conservative.”
No, the hardcore Republicans of Kansas haven’t quite become dictators. But they are more than happy to shape state government in an increasingly authoritarian, top-down direction.
This column, then, goes out to my readers who don’t work for Senate or House leadership and who don’t plan on pursuing higher office. You might be a hardcore, lifetime conservative. You might oppose abortion and support tax cuts. You might oppose social justice warriors and support law and order.
But will you support a man who promises to be dictator — even if it’s only for one day?
Editor at large Robert Kagan wrote a piece in the Washington Post that every American should read. I’ve highlighted it before, and I highlight it again today. In “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending,” Kagan points out that Trump will gain even more influence as he becomes the GOP presidential nominee.
“Votes are the currency of power in our system, and money follows, and by those measures, Trump is about to become far more powerful than he already is,” Kagan wrote. “The hour of casting about for alternatives is closing. The next phase is about people falling into line.”
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, responded by asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into Kagan for inciting an insurrection.
Will you follow Vance over the ledge? Will you take that plunge?
And have you prepared to swim through the water afterward?
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
Clay Wirestone serves as Kansas Reflector’s opinion editor. His columns have been published in the Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle, along with newspapers and websites across the state and nation. He has written and edited for newsrooms in Kansas, New Hampshire, Florida and Pennsylvania. He has also fact checked politicians, researched for Larry the Cable Guy, and appeared in PolitiFact, Mental Floss, and cnn.com. Before joining the Reflector in summer 2021, Clay spent four years at the nonprofit Kansas Action for Children as communications director. Beyond the written word, he has drawn cartoons, hosted podcasts, designed graphics and moderated debates. Clay graduated from the University of Kansas and lives in Lawrence with his husband and son.
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© Kansas Reflector, 2023
Kansas Reflector is a nonprofit news operation providing in-depth reporting, diverse opinions and daily coverage of state government and politics. This public service is free to readers and other news outlets.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.