THE NEW ABNORMAL

Trump’s Recent Rhetoric Is Just as Scary as It Seems

The former president called his political enemies “vermin” over the weekend. It’s a scary development in his rhetoric, The New Abnormal hosts argue.

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Former President Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric—for example, calling his political enemies “vermin”—is just as scary as it seems, according to The New Abnormal guest host Maura Quint, who does campaign and communications work for Americans for Tax Fairness. She’s also a comedy writer whose work can be found in The Onion and McSweeney’s.

After Trump’s comments over the weekend, his spokesperson even upped the ante by releasing a statement calling anyone who found the echoes of fascist leaders in his comments “snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.”

“I don’t think there’s anything he could do or say that would rock any support from him, which is frightening as hell,” Quint said. “I think he could just give a full Adolf Hitler speech… the full transcript, he could do the ‘Heil Hitler!’ He could do the whole thing. I don’t know who would be like, ‘Oh, too far.’ I don’t think there’s a ‘too far’ for his supporters.”

“It’s scary as hell,” she added.

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Then, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist—and former national security correspondent for The Daily Beast—Spencer Ackerman stops by the pod to talk about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—and why Congress should consider scrapping it entirely.

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Plus! Deepa Iyer of the Building Movement Project on her unique way of visualizing social movements as entire ecosystems—with each person playing a distinct role in various movements and communities.

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Brett BachmanEditor

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