Jon Stewart sat down for a CBS This Morning interview in which he wondered why many did not ask Trump a particular question. He then reminded Americans in an indirect manner about our focus. There is an important message here.
Jon Stewart shows he is still deeper than most journalists on TV
Jon Stewart asks the question most journalists did not ask Donald Trump as he reminded Americans of a reality few know about our past presidents.
“Donald Trump is a reaction not just to Democrats but Republicans,” Stewart said. “He is a repudiation of Republicans. But they will reap the benefit of his victory. In all of their cynicism. All of their I will guarantee you; Republicans are going to come to Jesus now about the power of government. One of the things that I think struck me about odd about this election, and maybe I just missed it, was nobody asked Donald Trump what makes America great. What are the ‘metrics’? Because it seems like, from listening to him, the metrics are that it is a competition. And I think what many would say is what makes us great is America is an anomaly in the world. Nobody, there are a lot of people, and I think his candidacy has animated that thought, that a multiethnic democracy, a multiethnic democracy, is impossible. And that is what America by its founding and constitutionally is.”
Charlie Rose then asked Jon Stewart if having the discussion about finding out who we are is healthy now. Stewart had an interesting response.
“Yes,” Stewart responded. “I would rather have this conversation openly and honestly than in dog whistles. Somebody was saying, ‘There is an anti-Semite that’s working in the White House.’ And it was like, ‘Have you listened to the Nixon tapes?’ Forget about like advising the President. The President. Have you read LBJ? Do you know our history?”
That response was significant especially with many Democrats and the media hyperventilating about Steve Bannon. I received a lot of pushback for an article I wrote stating that Bannon was a bait and switch. Some readers said we could walk and chew gum at the same time. Others took a more moral and purist stance saying we must fight wrong at all cost. I pointed out the following in the article.
Today’s post-election media coverage is about Trump naming Steve Bannon, a white supremacist, as his chief strategist. It’s a bait & switch.
Donald Trump knew that Steve Bannon would be controversial. At the same time, he named Right Wing ideologue Rince Priebus as his chief of staff.
While Steve Bannon’s Alt-Right White Nationalist proclivities are disturbing, more disturbing is his likely attempt to distort the news. That should be much more concerning.
It is obvious what Trump is doing. It is obvious what Paul Ryan is doing. It is obvious what Republicans are doing.
While Democrats and the media are hyperventilating about a white supremacist in the White House, Paul Ryan is giddy working to undo Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid. Ryan could not contain himself in his elation during his press conference this morning as he pointed this out using code words. He ignored questions about Bannon and pressed on about making big changes. What are these big changes? Our social safety net. They prefer the Right Wing lexicon ‘entitlements’ to make our social safety net seem like an unearned giveaway.
As Stewart said, there is nothing new here. Many of our past presidents had the same moral character of Donald Trump. They just tempered it. In so doing we could concentrate on policy.
We must call out Trump’s and his ilk’s misogyny, racism, sexism, and xenophobia. But we cannot let it consume all our energy and emotions to the point that we ignore the other cancers beneath, in this case, Paul Ryan’s destruction of the safety net, Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare.