On Sunday's The Situation Room on CNN, host Wolf Blitzer gave a forum to CNN contributor John Dean to trash President Donald Trump over his reaction to recent protests and riots by left-wing activists.
The former aide to President Richard Nixon who has been a perennial critic of Republicans in the decades since he left the White House invoked complaints by liberals about Nixon promising "law and order" and complained about President Trump using a similar strategy. Blitzer raised the issue:
The President made his "law and order" pitch to voters a centerpiece of his acceptance speech at the Republican convention Thursday night. You know a lot about a President who argued in favor of law and order. Compare what Nixon was arguing for in his bid for election and what the President is now doing.
Without informing viewers that 1968 Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey also used the term "law and order" and was critical of crime, Dean complained about Nixon:
Well, if you recall back in that era, Wolf, Hunter Thompson was a very active journalist, and he described this fear and loathing that Nixon was engaging in. I think those terms are as apt today as they were during the Nixon era. The fear was to frighten the voters into following the strong leader. The loathing was the dislike of the other[.]
After Blitzer followed up by asking if he thought Trump would succeed using the strategy the way Nixon did, Dean recalled that Nixon had not tried to "provoke" protests, and then took aim at Trump as he added:
But I don't -- it was very different today -- I think Trump is trying to fan demonstrations. He's trying to create the equivalent of what was the anti-Vietnam War movement over the Black Lives Matter issues and the racial conversation we're having in America. He doesn't want to have that conversation -- he wants to deflect from it. He also wants to distract from his coronavirus record. I think he's good at distracting, but I think Americans can figure out what he's doing, too.
Blitzer further prodded his guest to decry President Trump as he followed up: "And you've made the comparison -- you've suggested that Nixon was a what -- a choir boy -- compared to President Trump, is that right?"
Dean concluded by complaining that President Trump, unlike Nixon, does not have respect for the country's institutions.
This episode of CNN's The Situation Room was sponsored by E-Trade. Click the link to let them know how you feel about them sponsoring such biased content.
Below is the relevant transcript:
CNN's The Situation Room
August 30, 2020
7:41 p.m. EasternWOLF BLITZER: The President made his "law and order" pitch to voters a centerpiece of his acceptance speech at the Republican convention Thursday night. You know a lot about a President who argued in favor of law and order. Compare what Nixon was arguing for in his bid for election and what the President is now doing.
JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, if you recall back in that era, Wolf, Hunter Thompson was a very active journalist, and he described this fear and loathing that Nixon was engaging in. I think those terms are as apt today as they were during the Nixon era. The fear was to frighten the voters into following the strong leader. The loathing was the dislike of the other, and we're seeing that in spades throughout this presidency, and it's what's attracting his voters. It's what I wrote about in the book for that very reason because it's really not been getting the attention it needs.
BLITZER: But it worked for Nixon in '68. Do you think it could work for the President now?
DEAN: Well, it's a little bit different time. I think that -- I never saw any indication of Nixon ever trying to provoke a demonstration. In fact, he kind of buried himself when they came to Washington and pretended like he wasn't watching them although he was watching them very closely. I was filing reports every hour because he wanted to know what they were doing and where they were doing it. But I don't -- it was very different today -- I think Trump is trying to fan demonstrations. He's trying to create the equivalent of what was the anti-Vietnam War movement over the Black Lives Matter issues and the racial conversation we're having in America. He doesn't want to have that conversation -- he wants to deflect from it. He also wants to distract from his coronavirus record. I think he's good at distracting, but I think Americans can figure out what he's doing, too.
BLITZER: And you've made the comparison -- you've suggested that Nixon was a what -- a choir boy -- compared to President Trump, is that right?
DEAN: I think that's increasingly becoming the case. Richard Nixon, at heart, had a respect -- a deep respect for the institutions of government in Washington. He started in the Congress, worked in the House, and in the Senate before he became Vice President. He -- he respected the courts -- he was an attorney. And I don't see any respect by this President of any institutions. He's all about Donald Trump all the time, and that's deeply concerning to me, Wolf.
BLITZER: John Dean, thank you so much for joining us.
DEAN: Let me just add that the book is about his constituents and why they tolerate that because it's really not being well addressed.
BLITZER: Well, let's -- let me show the book cover once again for our viewers. The book is entitled, Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers. Thanks so much for writing it. Thanks so much for joining us.
