John Dean: Even Nixon Wouldn't Like Trump
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Famed Watergate whistleblower John Dean said that even his former boss, Richard Nixon, would not be a fan of President Donald Trump.
Dean made the comments during a Saturday morning appearance on MSNBC's A.M. Joy that was largely a promotional spot for his upcoming book about the authoritarian psychology of the 45th president's supporters.
Dean is an attorney by trade.
"I want to get your reaction about what Richard Nixon would think about Donald Trump," host Zerlina Maxwell said near the end of the segment. "Obviously people compare the two. But what do you think Richard Nixon would say watching Donald Trump as president?"
To which Dean replied:
Well, they did have a little correspondence but it was long before Trump was a public figure in the political world. And I think that Nixon would have little tolerance for Trump. There was a core belief in Nixon that respected the rule of law. He did know what shame was. And I think he would see this man for what he is and be very troubled by him.
The former chief White House counsel is a frequent Trump critic and has become a cable news mainstay during the Trump presidency. Dean originally made a name for himself when he opted to testify against Nixon before the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973.
Dean pleaded guilty to one felony charge of obstruction of justice and received a reduced sentence after agreeing to cooperate as a witness against Nixon. His testimony is widely attributed to the former president's eventual decision to resign from office in lieu of facing impeachment and removal by the U.S. Congress.
The Saturday television hit was mainly devoted to Dean's book, Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers, which he co-authored with Bob Altemeyer.
"They have dominating personalities, they're desirous of personal power, and they're amoral," Dean said of authoritarian leaders. "We've had a few presidents, maybe four including Trump-Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon and now Donald Trump-who really fit that definition."
"You don't go very far as a demagogue unless you have followers," he continued, addressing Trump's stalwarts. "That's the mass of the people. They're little bit more complex. They've been studied much longer about four, five decades now and that's the focus of this new book of mine where we look at the followers and try to understand who they are because there's a lot of science on them and it's very telling and you can't defeat them if you don't understand them."
Maxwell then asked Dean why Trump's supporters continue to support him even though "180,000 Americans have died on his watch."
Dean replied with a brief sketch of the president's followers.
"The key criteria in social science to identify these people is they're submissive to an authority figure of some sort and then they're aggressive on behalf of that authority figure," he noted. "They're very conventional in their lifestyle. They then tend to have many many other traits. They can be highly religious; they can hold inconsistent positions. They have no real critical thinking skills. They compartmentalize their various beliefs and understandings of the world."
"[Trump] hasn't studied this science to understand them," Dean continued, "He intuitively know what gets them. He knows they're frightened. He knows that they are highly prejudiced people and so that's why we're getting this Fear and Loathing on his campaign this time out-there was a lot of it in 2016 as well-but he understands who they are now and he's going to go after them with a lot of this fear talk and 'Law & Order' as he wants to describe it. Very Nixonian."
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It's pretty bad when even Richard Nixon thinks you're a piece of shit.
Dean is just jealous because nobody likes him. How many anti-Trump books are out now and why would anyone buy them when they can read all the bullshit lies they want for free online ?
I often find your comments fairly reasonable but Donald Trump is a horrible human being. No one is lying about him. If anything the press is too kind to him.
"The key criteria in social science to identify these people is they're submissive to an authority figure of some sort and then they're aggressive on behalf of that authority figure," he noted.
Submissive. That might be the most appropriate adjective in the history of appropriate adjectives.
They can be highly religious; they can hold inconsistent positions. They have no real critical thinking skills.
That also reminds me of some folks with whom I have grown somewhat familiar...
I'm not so certain that there was a "core belief" in Nixon that respected the rule of law. With Trump, we see on a daily basis that there is not. Trump's modus operandi is to always position himself above the law. A dictator believes and acts as if he is the law.
A shame that only those that did business with Donald Trump or his businesses would have a say as to whether he ( Trump ) deserves another term.
Uh, the term could also be defined as to whether it was spent in the WH or prison.
Holy crackers!!!!!!!!!!! Well done.
It's not surprising the Democrats would find Howard Dean to their liking. He was part of the spying of the Democratic National Committee, something the Democrats have found to be rather enticing. After the burglars were arrested, Dean took possession of evidence and money from the White House safe, destroying some of it before it could be found by the investigators. Sound familiar?
Why yes, YES it does, mostly because it's HISTORY.
BTFW, Dean paid his debt to society.
I hope Trump does too.
Trump makes Nixon look like an Eagle Scout. No administration has had more criminal indictments than trumps admin.. That's why I find it particularly funny when he tweets shit like, "law and order!!!!".
LAW AND ORDER? LAW AND ORDER? The Hatch Act ignored. Stealing and playing musicians' songs. I'm sure a lot more of such "LAW AND ORDER" has been carried out by that hypocritical thieving lawbreaking POS and he will continue to do so.
And then of course there are the Trump financial aspect of things.
So nixon wouldn’t like trump? Well, nixon was completely immersed as an establishment republican and we’ve all seen the hissy fits some establishment repubs have had toward trump. Imo it’s a compliment to trump that nixon wouldn’t like him. I would not be surprised if nixon would take a liking to biden. 😂
Wouldn't trump now be the establishment republican?
< 4 years makes one who continually fights against the establishment, establishment? Lol.
So the leader of all establishment is not a part of it?
The defacto head of the republican party is fighting against itself?
It is difficult to banter with MAGA Malaise.
It is like they have some gilded image of what he is.
When in reality...
Cognitive dissonance.
To you and the other posters. If you think trump is an establishment politician you three don’t know what an establishment politician is. have a great day in the twilight zone.
I don't think Trump is an establishment politician , but I know he is a narcissistic asshole who would destroy America in service of his narcissism and to protect himself.
Trump thinks he is America. And his idolaters let him.
Unfortunately far too many independents and moderates go far far far too easy on Trump base supporters. Trump base supporters are THE biggest problem in America, and have been for 5 years. Independents and moderates let them off the hook.
And the country is suffering for it.
So let me get this straight. The man in the highest office in the country, has senators and house reps defending him and backing him up, has put his own loyal officials in all branches of government, has the rnc's full backing...
Yet he is not establishment?
The only twilight zone here is people with blinders on that refuse to see reality.
At least you admit he is a politician.
i’m thinking we have different definitions of what an establishment politician is.
You think it revolves around some kind of timeline or something?
No, but time spent in government can be a factor because the more time one spends in an elected position the more likely one is to become ok with the status quo.
My point is, trump is the establishment now...
I’ll have to disagree with you on that one.
The Republican National Committee used stock footage from a 2019 protest in Spain to show rioting in 'Biden's America'
LIES UPON LIES UPON LIES UPON LIES - Can the American people be THAT STUPID as to fall for his LIES UPON LIES and actually VOTE for that THIEVING HYPOCRITICAL INCOMPETENT LAW-BREAKING LIAR?
President "Law and Order"....