Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who claimed to be “very conservative” on some issues, urged viewers to vote Democrat in the midterms.
His reasoning is that it is the only way to restrain President Donald Trump, who he called the “greatest threat to our democracy.”
“Look, these midterms are soon to be upon us,” he said. “And I have one piece of advice for people: You have to vote for a Democrat because — and I say that as someone who, you know, I have very conservative issues on a lot of things. I’m free trade. I’m pro-globalization, pro-business. But the fact is, John, the worst Democrat running if the Congress or the Senate today is better than the best Republican because the best Republicans except those who are tragically dying or retiring simply won’t stand up to this man. And if you see the norms that he is violating, the way he is trashing our most cherished institutions — things like the FBI, the Justice Department, the spreading of conspiracy theories from the bully pulpit of the White House — that is a threat to the fabric of our society and fabric of our democracy.
So I’m approaching this election coming up, unlike any other election,” Friedman continued. “It’s not about — I care about these issues — but for me it’s not about gun control or abortion or high taxes or low taxes. It’s about whether we can get a lever of power that can restrain this man for the next two years because the man sitting in the Oval Office today is the greatest threat to our democracy. And I will just add one other thing, which people need to remember: We have not had a crisis yet. We’ve not had a real crisis except a crises Donald Trump has created. Wait until we have a real crisis and you have a president who cannot be believed sitting in the Oval Office. Then you will really see the true impact of all of this lying, all of this undermining of institutions.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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