Posted on 02/18/2020 12:23:34 PM PST by Pelham
CRB: Your own attitude towards Trump as a political figure has changed over time. How would you describe that evolution?
NP: Well, when he first appeared on the scene, I disliked him because he resembled one of the figures that I dislike most in American politics and with whom I had tangled, namely Pat Buchanan—I had tangled with him in print and I had accused him of anti-Semitism. And he came back at me, and I came back at him. And it was a real street fight. And I said to my wife: “This guy [Trump] is Buchanan without the anti-Semitism,” because he was a protectionist, a nativist, and an isolationist. And those were the three pillars of Pat Buchanan’s political philosophy.
..
NP: ...So for a while I was supporting Marco Rubio and I was enthusiastic about him. As time went on, and I looked around me, however, I began to be bothered by the hatred that was building up against Trump from my soon to be new set of ex-friends. It really disgusted me. I just thought it had no objective correlative. You could think that he was unfit for office—I could understand that—but my ex-friends’ revulsion was always accompanied by attacks on the people who supported him. They called them dishonorable, or opportunists, or cowards—and this was done by people like Bret Stephens, Bill Kristol, and various others. And I took offense at that.
..
CRB: ...So you began by looking at Trump as a kind of warmed over Pat Buchanan—
NP: Yeah, without the anti-Semitism.
CRB: Did he do anything as president or as a candidate that accelerated your reevaluation of him? Did a lightbulb go on at some point?
NP: Well it wasn’t a lightbulb, and it wasn’t the road to Damascus revelation. It was
(Excerpt) Read more at claremontreviewofbooks.com ...
I’ve read several of his books, and they are great.
And I said to my wife: “This guy [Trump] is Buchanan without the anti-Semitism,”
LOL, Trump should have put that quote in a campaign ad! It’s a back-handed endorsement, as far as I’m concerned.
Eric Cortellessa covers American politics for The Times of Israel.
Thank you, Pelham. I enjoyed the interview.
Norm posts on FR, doesn’t he?
“Trump, with all his vices, has the necessary virtues and strength to fight the fight that needs to be fought. And if he doesn’t win in 2020, I would despair of the future. [...] His virtues are the virtues of the street kids of Brooklyn. You don’t back away from a fight and you fight to win. That’s one of the things that the Americans who love him, love him for—that he’s willing to fight, not willing but eager to fight. And that’s the main virtue and all the rest stem from, as Klingenstein says, his love of America. I mean, Trump loves America. He thinks it’s great or could be made great again.”
That was an exceptional article. It is a pleasure to read a conversation with a brilliant man who can express intelligent thoughts in a clear, concise, accessible way. There was also no hint of “spin” or twisting the truth to push a point. He speaks as a wise man.
“That was an exceptional article. It is a pleasure to read a conversation with a brilliant man who can express intelligent thoughts in a clear, concise, accessible way.”
It occurs to me that in the, ahem, print era... before the daily diet of radio and cable TV pop-conservatism... that we used to routinely read articles of this caliber in the conservative press. Writing forces you to discipline your thoughts.
So while Rush and Hannity and their progeny in the electronic media have a role there’s not a whole lot left of the thought provoking essayists who once had me reading National Review cover to cover. The old guard largely died off and no one replaced them. A few are still around.
Joe Sobran. Erich von Kuenhelt-Leddihn. Stephen Tonsor. Russell Kirk. Mel Bradford. Sam Francis. Andrew Lytle. Paul Gottfried. Allan Carlson.
Pat Buchanan is anti-Semitic???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.