Trump is 'an American war criminal in his own country': Carl Bernstein

For the past six months Donald Trump has persisted with his reckless and inflammatory "Big Lie" rhetoric that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" and "stolen" from him. That egomaniacal blather led directly to the January 6th insurrection in Washington, D.C. And it continues to this day with Trump's most recent cult rally in Phoenix, Arizona, where he spent nearly all of his 90+ minutes ranting about the last election.

However, Trump's phony election fraud fetish only scratches the surface of his danger and dementia. On Sunday's Reliable Sources on CNN, famed Watergate reporter, Carl Bernstein, delivered a convincing argument for changing the context with which we view Trump. His self-serving distortions of reality are not merely examples of his narcissistic thirst for adoration and power. They represent a much more serious breach of societal norms and international law. Bernstein began by noting that "What we're talking about is a kind of delusional madness." Then he elaborated saying that...

"I think when we're talking about Trump's crimes as an American war criminal in his own country, that he has perpetrated upon our people, including the tens of thousands who died because of his homicidal negligence in the pandemic, putting his own electoral interests above the health of our people as they were slaughtered in this pandemic.

"Looking at his actions in terms of fomenting a coup to hold on to office, in which the head of the American military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff [Gen. Mark Milley], has now compared Trump - not the press, not reporters comparing Trump to Hitler - but rather the head of the American military, comparing him and his movement to Brownshirts, to the Reichstag fire. This is a huge wake up call to this country."

Bernstein is articulating what many Americans have already been thinking for months (years?). And he is providing just the right evidence to support his opinion. Trump has brazenly placed his own interests above those of the nation. He has gone to extreme lengths to persuade his dimwitted cult disciples that his goals are the same as theirs. And he has grievously harmed millions by doing so. This same point was made by historian Steven Beschloss, who tweeted that...

"We are living in a country in which tens of millions are continuing participants in a death cult committed to a sociopathic conman and criminal who occupied the White House to enrich himself and feed his broken ego."

While Trump is certainly guilty of forming and encouraging that "death cult," the liability of the conservative, Trump-fluffing media cannot be ignored. First, and still foremost, is Fox News, where Trump's lies are not just tolerated, they are supported by a roster of anchors, contributors, and guests, who are almost uniformly devotees of the Cult of Trump. They believe the coronavirus was a hoax created to hurt Trump. They believe that President Biden is a communist. They believe that Trump won the election. In short, they are hopelessly bonkers. And they are spreading that sickness to their viewers.

It is crucial that the nation recognize just how detrimental Trump has been to America, and will continue to be if the American people don't hold him accountable. That means our legal institutions need to step up and charge him for the crimes he's committed. Unless they do it will just be setting the precedented for the next aspiring dictator to take over where Trump left off. Bernstein and Beschloss are saying exactly the right things. But if we do nothing in response, the American experiment will end in failure.