The Parallels Between Nixon And Trump
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | JUNE 21, 2018
“President Trump believes he can do anything, to anyone, at any time. His recent subhuman treatment of immigrant children is but one example of his persistent efforts to inflict pain and divide the nation.“
There are both parallels and stark differences between the Watergate scandals of the 1970s that resulted in President Nixon resigning and the Russia/Trump scandals of today.
Both scandals involve attacks by a President on the rule of law, our constitutional system of government and our democracy. Both scandals involve delusional Presidents – one who went on to say that when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal, and the other who believes the President cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice. Both scandals involve Presidents who believed they were victims, not perpetrators.
Here are the stark differences:
President Trump believes he can do anything, to anyone, at any time. His recent subhuman treatment of immigrant children is but one example of his persistent efforts to inflict pain and divide the nation.
President Trump lies unlike any President we have known. As of June 1, according to The Washington Post, Trump had made 3,251 false and misleading claims since taking office.
Social media empowers President Trump to spread his never-ending lies and false statements about the Mueller investigation to tens of millions of people regularly. Trump engages in the demagogic practice of telling the Big Lie.
Trump has a Greek chorus of rogue House Republicans who defend him at all times, regardless of the facts and the truth. Trump and these Republicans incessantly and groundlessly attack the Mueller investigation in an attempt to discredit its findings, if not eliminate it all together.
Despite the attacks, a majority of Americans continue to express confidence that Mueller will conduct a fair investigation.
In Watergate, the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox resulted in a nationwide explosion of outrage by the American people that led to the investigation continuing, and ultimately to Nixon’s resignation.
Today the American people are once again the last line of defense against any move Trump may try to make to eliminate or take control of the Mueller investigation. If that happens, citizens will again ensure that the President is unsuccessful and the rule of law and our constitutional system of government prevail
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Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections.
