Carl Bernstein is most famous for teaming up with Bob Woodward in the early seventies to pen a series of investigative reporting pieces on the then-ongoing Watergate scandal, which involved Republican president Richard Nixon. The scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Nixon after a long battle with the press.
According to The Hill , Bernstein recently had some thoughts about current-president Donald Trump’s ongoing Russia scandal. In an interview with Wolf Blitzer on the Trump-despised network CNN, Carl Bernstein was direct in stating that the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the potential collusion of the Trump campaign with Russian officials during the 2016 election is an even more serious situation than the Watergate scandal.
Like the Watergate scandal, Trump’s potential Russian collusion comes alongside numerous instances of alleged obstruction of justice, which Mueller is also reportedly investigating. Recently, talks of Mueller interviewing Trump about potential obstruction has been seriously ramping up.
Carl Bernstein seemed to think that the main factor making the situation worse is the apparent complacency of House and Senate Republicans, who are seemingly unwilling to hold Donald Trump accountable, should allegations of a Russian collusion or obstruction of justice end up being confirmed by Robert Mueller’s current investigation.
“I think it’s time to recognize that what we are watching in the Trump presidency is worse than Watergate. It’s worse than Watergate, as I say, because the system worked in Watergate. The heroes of Watergate were Republicans who demanded that the president be held accountable, who demanded that he be transparent, who demanded to know, what did the president know and when did he know it? And who conducted bipartisan investigation that led, in fact, to understanding and finding out what Nixon had done? Whereas, the Republicans on Capitol Hill thus far, have done almost everything they can to impede and undermine legitimate investigation.”
Bernstein went on to assert that much of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and appeals to his base are evidence that the president is, in many ways, an authoritarian.
Trump is known for using the term “fake news” to describe news which is often critical of the president or his policies. While some see it as simply heated arguments, others believe it’s a more nefarious plan to delegitimize the press. These plans become more compelling to Trump opposition when paired with the fact that Trump often gives praise to conservative outlets, who generally support the president.
Wow, @foxandfriends is blowing away the competition in the morning ratings. Morning Joe is a dead show with very few people watching and sadly, Fake News CNN is also doing poorly. Too much hate and inaccurately reported stories – too predictable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
Recently, more conservatives have been critical of Donald Trump, including Trey Gowdy, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain, though the majority of party Republicans still defend the president against the ongoing Russian probe.
