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Done With Never Trump by Brett Stephens NYT 12/17/24
A far more fair-minded restatement of things by a long-time Never Trump critic, concluding paragraphs:
What else did we not sufficiently appreciate? That, as much as Trump might lie, Americans also felt lied to by the left — particularly when it came to the White House cover-up of Biden’s physical and mental decline. That, as bigoted as elements of the MAGA world can be, there is plenty of bigotry to go around — not least in the torrent of Israel-bashing and antisemitism that emerged from the cultural left after Oct. 7. That, as much as we fear Trump could wreck some of our institutions, whether it’s higher education or the F.B.I., many of those institutions are already broken and may need to be reconceived or replaced. So here’s a thought for Trump’s perennial critics, including those of us on the right: Let’s enter the new year by wishing the new administration well, by giving some of Trump’s cabinet picks the benefit of the doubt, by dropping the lurid historical comparisons to past dictators, by not sounding paranoid about the ever-looming end of democracy, by hoping for the best and knowing that we need to fight the wrongs that are real and not merely what we fear, that whatever happens, this too shall pass.
The article also critiqued the "self-satisfied" elite's overblown attacks and fears (next Hitler), the overstatement of the significance of Jan. 6, the failure to realistically assess the gross policy failure at the border, the importance of the economic well-being of the middle class, bad COVID policy, the hypocrisy of attacking Trump's sexual indiscretions by ardent defenders of Bill Clinton, attacking Trump's business dealings while ignoring overt Biden corruption.
This assessment of Trump is noteworthy:
Who, and what, is Trump? He’s a man and the symbol of a movement. The man is crass but charismatic, ignorant but intuitive, dishonest but authentic. The movement is patriotic — and angry.
Stephens has also consistently criticized the arrogance, blindness and incompetence of the left but has never been this close to almost being deferential to Trump and us MAGA types. It will be healthy for our national discourse when debates about Trump's actions and policies don't involve apocalyptic rhetoric, lawfare and mandatory allusions to Hitler. Trump is making some of his harshest critics behave more reasonably and with constructive self-examination. So much winning.
Discussion (131)
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There was a time when I was a big fan of Stephens. Then he lost his way. It looks like he's finding his way back, although the statement above defies that observation. And Mr. Stephens, if we are angry, we are certainly entitled to be!
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He and others are so eager to brand others (many they don’t even know) ignorant. And dishonest. I’m eager to brand him arrogant as …. all get out.
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While I think you are correct about this point, I’m in no mood for forgiveness. Never Trumpers, IMHO, put Joe Biden in the White House. Untold Ukrainians and Russians are dead, along with many thousands of American victims of illegal alien violent crime all because of Papa Joe. Whether it’s a mark of political immaturity or old man irascibility, I won’t forgive and I won’t forget.
And - they called us stupid, repeatedly.
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In doing all that, the only thing the GOPe made plain was their only core belief: that they should be in charge.
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The left's entitlement mentality with respect to political power approaches that of old European aristos and the Japanese samurai class before being brought down by popular movements and revolts.
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