Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large - 1h ago
"You know, Mr. President, you and I disagree about the election, but we agree on so much," Hewitt told Trump, segueing into a conversation about China's hypersonic missiles.
Talk about an other-than-that-how-was-the-play-Mrs. Lincoln moment!
That Hewitt uttered that line without irony is a telling window into how conservatives have found ways to rationalize Trump and his fundamentally anti-democratic attempts to undermine the faith of the American public in the 2020 election results.
Here's the reality: You can't just sort of yada yada the election rejection embraced by Trump. Because in refusing to accept the result of the 2020 election and repeatedly (and falsely) alleging voter fraud, Trump is actively working against everything that makes America, well, America.
Hewitt's attempt to dismiss his disagreement with Trump over the election then as just another policy disagreement is laughable. This isn't Hewitt saying we should have stayed in Afghanistan and Trump saying we should have pulled American troops out. This is the former President of the United States refusing to accept the results of a national election.
And, it's actually more than that. It's that Trump has turned election denialism into a litmus test for aspiring Republican candidates. If you aren't willing to say you believe -- contra all available evidence -- that the 2020 election was stolen, then you not only won't have Trump's support but may well find him actively working to defeat you when you run for reelection. (See Brian Kemp and David Perdue in Georgia. Also Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.)
Trump is working to make a belief that the 2020 election was stolen a central piece of the Republican Party platform. And, again, this isn't like making abortion or trade a party platform. This is making a rejection of American democracy a major part of what it means to be a Republican.
Because of all of that, Hewitt can't simply write what Trump is doing as a place where they disagree. That sort of justification is how we got into this mess, with one of the two major political parties in the country devolving more into a cult of personality than any sort of organization gathered together by a shared set of principles and policies.
4 comments:
You know, you are wrong. The last election was, in fact, stolen, it was not free and fair as you claim. If you truly believe what you wrote in this post, you are part of the problem.
I know the election was stolen ! The reason I posted this was because someone on CNN actually agreed with Pres Trump. Perhaps I didn't read far enough into the article but TRUST ME, I am Trump ALL the way. I was a demoRat most of my life but switched parties JUST TO VOTE FOR TRUMP, so don't tell me I am part of the problem. ...Pappy
Also.. sometimes it pays to look at what the other side has to say,,,,Just about everything Hewitt had to say was a lie, But this is how the DemoRats think
Trump certainly was not alone in his assessment of the obvious. Just as lefties so desperately need to believe that Trump Told Us what to think and say rather than see the obvious, Trump was SAYING what we already believed. And, unlike the sycophants on the left, we Are critical of Trump. Lefties carry water for idiots and pretend it's right. We Questioned Trump and his policies. When he was wrong, we saw and admitted it. I'm very curious about the inflation we see today and wonder how much of that is the result of his money creation. It seems awfully quick on the heels of the Biden spending.
But an otherwise vibrant economy can overcome inflation,, but since Trump ,and America, got ripped off and idiots took over, the economy, and America, are being despolded,,
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