Trump-Reagan parallels are scary, but not for the reasons critics thinkFox News, Feb 24, 2017, Tammy Bruce
The media laugh at any attempt to compare President Trump to former President Ronald Reagan, but there are many similarities, not the least of which are the withering attacks both men endured before and after they sought the presidency.
The extraordinary assaults by media, celebrities and jealous politicians against Trump have been unending. Their attacks include questioning his mental health, repeatedly comparing him to Hitler, declaring him a fascist, insisting he’s a modern-day Manchurian candidate, that he’s a traitor (because Russians!), and on and on.
The striking thing about the nature of the attacks is that they’re all personal. They are accusations meant to instill in the listener a sense of danger, provoking an existential fear of the president of the United States.
Now why would someone want to do that? And what could possibly be the result of creating that toxic environment?
Reagan withstood similar vitriol by the same and usual suspects. The Sun newspaper quoted author Steven Hayward’s recollection of the rhetoric against Reagan: “Democratic Rep. William Clay of Missouri charged that Reagan was “trying to replace the Bill of Rights with fascist precepts lifted verbatim from Mein Kampf.”
Los Angeles Times cartoonist Paul Conrad drew a panel depicting Reagan plotting a fascist putsch in a darkened Munich beer hall. Harry Stein (later a conservative convert) wrote in Esquire that the voters who supported Reagan were like the “good Germans” in “Hitler’s Germany,” The Sun reported.
After being attacked relentlessly by fellow Republicans during the campaign, Hollywood making their condemnation known, and the media working overtime to demonize Reagan, it shouldn’t be surprising that, within 90 days of his taking the oath of office, the president was shot by a lunatic.
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So far, the drumbeat against Trump is virtually identical. In the middle of the campaign, The Washington Post delivered an editorial titled, “Donald Trump is a unique threat to American democracy.”
The usual Hitler-fascist accusations are a daily narrative. Within the last two weeks, Democratic legislators started openly suggesting the president is mentally ill. The Hill reports, “A growing number of Democrats are openly questioning President Trump’s mental health. …. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., during a weekend interview with CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ said that ‘a few’ Republican colleagues have expressed concern to him about Trump’s mental health.”
NPR also decided to get into the act just a few days ago with an article that mused, “At 70, Trump is the oldest American president to ever take office. Couple his age with a family history of dementia. …” Yeah, subtle.
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As media rhetoric boils, last week a middle-schooler was arrested for throwing a 2x4 piece of wood at the presidential motorcade in Florida. He then implicated four other teenagers in what appears to be an attempted assault of the president. Charges are pending.
I do believe there are many similarities between Reagan and Trump. Now with the benefit of history, where are the responsible journalists and statesmen calling for the daily vitriolic personal attacks to stop? Where are the Bushes? The Cheneys? And even the Kennedys? They all know what it’s like when a president is murdered. The media should complain all they want about Trump’s policies, but focusing on demonizing the president personally isn’t politics, it’s a danger to us all.
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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/02/24/trump-reagan-parallels-are-scary-but-not-for-reasons-critics-think.html
