The New York Crimes's Ongoing & Timid Dance Around Trump's Autocratic Aspirations

I’ve spent enough time watching American politics to know that it is often a bizarre theater of absurdity. You’d think I’d be desensitized by now. But then I stumbled upon Ezra Klein’s latest piece in The New York Times, “What’s Wrong with Donald Trump?” It was one of those rare reads that elicited a physical response — like choking on a dry piece of toast. Here we are, less than two weeks away from what may be the most consequential election of our time, and the most prestigious newspaper in the country continues to waltz delicately around Donald Trump as if he were a misunderstood genius rather than a man actively scheming to dismantle democracy. If this isn’t the epitome of mollycoddling, I don’t know what is.

This political state of affairs isn’t about balance or objectivity. It’s about a reluctance to call a spade a spade — or, in this case, to call Donald Trump what he is: an aspiring autocrat with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and the morals of a snake-oil salesman. It’s not like we haven’t seen this playbook before; it’s just that The Times seems committed to pretending it’s merely another political tactic rather than an existential threat to the republic. It’s a baffling approach, especially considering the same publication’s unrelenting scrutiny of Joe Biden’s every verbal stumble. Biden, for all his flaws, has never implied or stated that he’d jail his opponents, let alone lead a violent mob to ransack the Capitol. But nuance be damned, it’s Trump who gets the velvet-gloved treatment.

Klein’s analysis is well-researched and rich with psychological insights but remains narrow. It’s like examining the patterns on a raging bull’s hide while goring the matador. Yes, Trump’s narcissism, impulsivity, and reality-distorting tendencies are well-documented, but let’s not lose sight of the more significant issue: he’s not just flawed — he’s an active danger to the very foundations of American governance. Yet Klein, like The Times in general, stops just short of the logical conclusion: Trump isn’t simply a controversial figure; he’s a deliberate threat to democracy. Instead, the piece skirts around stating this directly, as if labeling him a “danger” would break the rules of etiquette at The Times.

The timeliness of Klein’s article is significant, as it coincides with Trump’s ongoing proclamations of what he intends to do if re-elected: pardon the Capitol attackers, strip birthright citizenship, and weaponize the DOJ against political rivals. These aren’t subtle threats — they’re neon signs flashing “authoritarianism ahead!” Yet the article glosses over this, framing Trump’s behavior primarily as a psychological profile rather than a clear and present danger to democratic norms. Klein’s focus on Trump’s quirks unintentionally trivializes the broader political dynamics, like a documentary on Napoleon’s hat collection that ignores his imperial ambitions.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/24/2278791/-The-Times-s-Ongoing-amp-Timid-Dance-Around-Trump-s-Autocratic-Aspirations