William F. Jasper – The title of the Washington Post op-ed wastes no time on subtlety: “Larry Summers: Donald Trump is a serious threat t
o American democracy.” The March 1 opinion piece by Lawrence H. Summers accuses the Republican presidential front-runner of, among other things, being a “thug,” a “demagogue,” and a threat to “the rule of law” and “democracy,” but feigns graciousness by opining that Trump is slightly better than Hitler and Mussolini on the thuggery scale.
“While comparisons between Donald Trump and Mussolini or Hitler are overwrought,” says Summers, “Trump’s rise does illustrate how democratic processes can lose their way and turn dangerously toxic when there is intense economic frustration and widespread apprehension about the future.”
“The possible election of Donald Trump as president is the greatest present threat to the prosperity and security of the United States,” Summers avers, and warns that Trump “is demagogically offering the power of his personality as a magic solution to all problems — and making clear that he is prepared to run roughshod over anything or anyone who stands in his way.” – (source)
Summers, of course, sees no irony or hypocrisy in his remarks, or in his failure to recognize that his boss, Barack Obama, is (and has been, for the past eight years) “demagogically offering the power of his personality as a magic solution to all problems — and making clear that he is prepared to run roughshod over anything or anyone who stands in his way.”