Rachel Maddow explained why Trump elevating Nazis by having dinner with them is not politics as usual.
Video:
Rachel #Maddow “Guys like that, neo-nazi agitators getting a big proverbial hug, a private audience with the Republican Party’s likely next presidential nominee…it’s great for the Nazis, right? It’s a supercharging thing for their perceived legitimacy, their reach.” pic.twitter.com/9Y09iQmUkN
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 29, 2022
Maddow said:
And I feel like since this came to light over the holiday weekend, most of the talk in political circles has been about whether or not this is bad for Trump, whether or not this is going to reflect poorly on him as the leader of the Republican Party, whether this is something that might hurt him, whether this might be a mistake or whether this will slide off him, too.
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Okay, the reason groups like People For The American Way monitor guys like this and keep track of what they are saying and doing is not just because a guy like this might have an incidental effect someday on a real politician who interacts with them.
No, the reason it is worth keeping track of Holocaust-denying racist agitators who advocate race war and — I kid you not — burning women alive in America, the reason you — the reason you monitor guys like that is not just because of
their potential future impact someday on other people who have power, it’s because of their power and the damage they want to do.
And guys like that, neo-nazi agitators getting a big proverbial hug, a private audience with the Republican Party’s likely next presidential nominee, sure, that reflects on that political candidate and on his party, but more importantly, it’s great for the Nazis, right? It’s a supercharging thing for their perceived legitimacy, their reach, their ability to get their message out to people, to operate, recruit, and do what they want to do, which in this guy’s case is turning the United States of America into a whites-only, no Jews allow fascist homeland under a dictator who he would please like to be Donald Trump. It is hard to have regular, everyday, normal politics alongside this type of politics, too, but that’s where we are, and the violent ultra-right will benefit greatly from this moment.
Maddow was correct. This situation isn’t politics as usual. Donald Trump is elevating Nazis and telling people that Nick Fuentes really gets him. Trump’s desires and impulses have never been in doubt, and he wants to destroy democracy to seize and keep power.
When the media treats Trump dining with Nazis as just another Trump quirk, and they debate whether or not the former president hanging out with NAZIS is a bad thing, they are normalizing extremism and injecting it into mainstream society.
Donald Trump is a national security threat, and treating him as anything less only helps American right-wing extremism.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association