Carl Bernstein: We are in the midst of a 'malignant presidency'

[spanone]

(CNN)Journalism legend Carl Bernstein called on the US press Friday to rise to the challenge of the Donald Trump presidency, which he characterized as "malignant."

"We're in foreign territory," Bernstein said, speaking on CNN's "New Day." "We have never been in a malignant presidency like this before. It calls on our leaders, it calls on our journalists to do a different kind of reporting, a different kind of dealing with this presidency and the President."

Bernstein went on to argue that the Trump presidency's deepest problems are becoming an open secret in Washington.

"I think something much greater is happening, and that is that we are in the midst of a malignant presidency," he said. "That malignancy is known to the military leaders of the country. It's known to the Republican leadership in Congress who recognize it, and it's known to the intelligence community."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/01/politics/bernstein-calls-trump-presidency-malignant-cnntv/index.html

[cyclonefence]

1. The Republics will hang on to him

as long as there's the faintest hope that he'll be able to get the tax cuts for rich people and big corporations, which is apparently the total raison d'etre for the Republic Party. The repeated failures of repeal and replace--whose entire purpose is to give tax cuts to rich people--must be giving them pause. If he manages to hang on until 2018, and if there is *any* growth at all in the numbers of Democrats in congress, I expect we'll see the Republics more amenable to impeachment.

[SweetieD]

2. The 1 percent want their damn tax cuts. And the Christian taliban want to impose their will

on the US without resistance.

They know the results will be disastrous for the country. And the US will tank. Which is why they want Trump as the fall guy. They can blame him when it doesn't work out then have him go into exile like Reagan and Bush. Trump obviously has dementia and at the end of all this, they will wisk him away and sequester him so that he can never be questioned for ruining the country.

These 1 percent are sociopaths and only care about themselves.

[Bluepinky]

3. Malignant presidency is an accurate term.

But when we surgically remove the tumor (Trump), we have to remove the affected surrounding tissue (Pence, McConnell, Ryan and several others). Then we need to follow-up with chemo-radiation therapy to completely eradicate the cancer (overturn Citizen's United, adjust the federal tax code to increase taxes on the wealthy, restore voting rights, reimplement the ACA, join the Paris Climate Agreement, apologize to Europe and the world, punch Putin in the nose, and a bunch of other stuff).

[peggysue2]

14. Yes!

Yes, and yes. If 'malignancy' is the proper descriptive than all tools in the tool box are required to remove, protect and work to ensure another resurgence does not occur.

Strange, too, that the cancer metaphor applies on a number of levels because the physical disease often develops from triggers inside the body--exposure to carcinogenic factors, weakened immune systems, failure of early detection, etc. Mutated cells get a foothold, evolve and replicate with ever increasing speed. What we know about cancer is that it is part of who and what we are. The process is written in our DNA. Fast replication of cellular activity allows us to heal, to grow, to reproduce. But with cancer, the brakes are removed. The very process that supports life can ultimately kill us.

As with the body, the body politic is not immune to these attacks from within. And as with the physical body, a democratic, open and free society requires watchdogs, dedicated participants and increased self-awareness of dangers and vulnerabilities.

As any cancer patient will tell you, the disease does not define us nor will it necessarily kill us if we're willing to push back, seek proper and aggressive treatments and keep our eye on the prize: remission and then complete and utter eradication.

[bresue]

4. And to cut out a malignancy....all outer layers need to go to....

Any supporters and enablers of this idiot need to be surgically removed .....

[Girard442]

5. Carl, it's known to everyone not suffering from Toxic Fox Syndrome.

[George II]

6. That's one step further than the "cancer in the Oval Office" that John Dean spoke about in 1973.

[Paladin]

7. That's as good a description of trump's reign as I've seen, so far.

A malignant presidency, busily in the process of metastasizing. Needs immediate removal.

[broadcaster90210]

8. This focus is WRONG and will get us killed.

It is the GOP. Trump is just a side show. The focus must be on the GOP and conservatism that are as morally bankrupt as Caligula.

This all focus on Trump gives the unspoken false impression that if he were just removed we'd be fine. Until America faces up to its moral imperative to get rid of conservatism, we move inexorably toward destruction.

[Susan Calvin]

13. I agree.

He's the logical conclusion of their toxic party.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. it is extremely toxic. Huge side effect is daily depression.

[KingCharlemagne]

10. In the words of the erstwhile John Dean, "There's a cancer on the presidency." - nt

[aquamarina]

11. Yeah and it's also

Obvious to our enemies abroad.

[Honeycombe8]

12. And NO ONE but the press (& a few judges) are doing anything about it. nt