During a recent episode of The Drill Down podcast, Government Accountability President Peter Schweizer reacted to a post-election analysis written by The New York Times.
“What The New York Times has told us in their writeup about this election is that Donald Trump poses a historically unique threat to American democracy — unlike anything we faced in our 200-plus year history,” GAI Vice President Eric Eggers said, teeing up Schweizer’s reaction.
“It’s an amazing, amazing statement. and I think it’s probably worth reading at length. ‘Donald Trump told the American people exactly what he planned to do. He would use military force against his political opponents. He would fire thousands of career public servants. He would deport millions of immigrants in military-style roundups.’ And she goes on to write in this column — it’s a media analysis, this is not an editorial — that America has basically elected this, in her words,’dictator,'” Schweizer said.
“They’re using the quote that he said he would be a dictator on day one and then they conclude it with when asked to give him the power to do all that, the voters said ‘yes.’ And they say this is a totalitarian regime signed by a permission slip by American voters,” Eggers adds.
“It’s remarkably naive and ignorant on so many levels because it doesn’t reflect what Trump’s positions were, but it’s also historically stupid to say that this is going to be the biggest threat in 248 years,” Schweizer said, jumping back in. “Let’s remember Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, right? A constitutional right.”
“And FDR, as we’ve discussed previously, you know, rounded up Japanese Americans and put them in camps!” Eggers added. “But here’s what’s crazy: if you’re a reporter for The New York Times or a host on MSNBC, you legitimately believe he will do that to you.”
Watch the clip above.
