We are so fortunate to have expert psychoanalyst Judy Woodruff on call at PBS. (That's sarcasm, folks.)
Friday evening, Woodruff, apparently because whatever evidence there is of ISIS involvement in Thursday's terrorist massacre in Nice, France is in her view insufficiently direct, speculated that "It could have been the act of one person disgruntled, upset with his life."
Woodruff gave her armchair assessment in a panel discussion with the network's Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
The video segment below opens with Brooks telling us why presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's prospects for winning the White House in November are improving. Naturally, he made sure to get a passive-aggressive Nazi reference and a direct mention of the word "authoritarian" into the discussion, while appearing somewhat frustrated that the current situation doesn't help someone with "experience" like Hillary Clinton, the Democrats' presumptive nominee. It apparently hasn't occurred to Brooks that the world is where it is partially because of its "experience" while Mrs. Clinton was Secretary of State.
That's when Woodruff jumped in with her attempt to profile Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the driver who killed over 80 and injured 200 more, after which Shields not so subtly played the race card:
Transcript (bolds are mine):
DAVID BROOKS: This campaign is in part a debate between an ardent nationalist, which Donald Trump is sort of a European-style blood and soil nationalist, versus a candidate on the Democratic side who's more of a globalist, who believes in global institutions.
And these attacks all around the world are — we see the dark side of globalization. And so I do think they help Trump. And then to me, the interesting thing is (that) people are going to want order, as Mark said, they're going to want somebody who is going to want to preserve order. Normally, that means they want experience, and that would be good for Clinton. But I think in this climate of chaos, they're going to want toughness, and that's sort of like this authoritarianism, and that's sort of up more Trump's alley.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Even when there’s no link, no proven link, yet? For example, in France, this, this man who drove this truck, Mark, they still don’t have a connection between him and ISIS. It could have been the act of one person disgruntled, upset with his life.
MARK SHIELDS: No, you’re right, Judy. But, to David’s point, it’s nationalism, too. He was a Tunisian, of Tunisian origin and descent. So, he was "the other." And think this is very much — that is very much in our politics. David raised the point about chaos in the world. This is why the convention is important and Donald Trump’s deportment, comportment are, because, I mean, because this should be an advantage to him right now, as the out-party and the one who has been preaching this message of nationalism. But he does projected chaos. And I think to that degree this — it hurts — it will hurt him, if in fact, at the convention in Cleveland, he personally exemplifies or represents chaos or the convention itself does. I think that’s a risk, a high risk for him.
Readers will be completely unsurprised that "blood and soil" nationalism "was a very important philosophy for Nazi Germany." In other words, David Brooks was making a passive-aggressive "Trump is Hitler" analogy.
By Friday morning U.S. time, it was already known that Bouhlel "screamed 'Allahu Akbar' as he opened fire on frantic police trying to stop him." Somehow, that information didn't enter into Woodruff's assessment of Mr. "Disgruntled, upset with his life" Bouhlel. Additionally, it has since been reported that Bouhlel "sent £84,000 to family in Tunisia before committing (the) massacre."
Finally, Shields played the race card by presenting the Bouhlel as "the other," as if that's his most important characteristic, for the clear purpose of portraying anyone, including Donald Trump, who thinks that more must be done to ensure that attacks like that just seen in Nice as a cynical opportunist.
It is so not comforting to know that our tax dollars partially fund two washed-up CNN alums and a conservative poser at the Old Gray Lady.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
