Former CIA Director John Brennan Says America Is ‘Battling Some Fascist Tendencies’
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Friday, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan said that the United States is “battling some fascist tendencies,” Mediaite reported.
Anchor Brianna Keilar kicked off the discussion by pointing out that Republican Tommy Tuberville — who recently won a seat in the U.S. Senate — described World War II as a fight against communism and socialism.
Commenting on the senator-elect’s remarks, Brennan said that those who want to run for office should be required to pass a basic “civics test” to prove they are qualified to represent their constituents.
The former CIA director said that there are individuals in the government “all the way up to the White House who have no conception of this country’s great history.”
Keilar agreed that it is imperative to understand that America fought against fascism during the Second World War. prompting Brennan to issue an ominous warning and rip into President Donald Trump.
“I think we’re right now battling some fascist tendencies amongst some people. Highly nativist tendencies and instincts that I think Donald Trump harbors and has shown.”
Brennan added that dangerous far-right movements have sprung up in the U.S., much like in the rest of the world.
“What we have seen happen around the globe over the last hundred years or so, I think we see elements of it here in the states,” he said.
Tuberville, a retired football coach, has made a number of unusual statements since defeating Democrat Doug Jones.
Per USA Today, in a recent interview, he misidentified the three branches of government and falsely claimed that former Vice President Al Gore, who was the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2000, was called president-elect for a whole month before the Supreme Court stepped in to determine the winner of the election.
As the publication noted, neither Gore nor then-Republican nominee George W. Bush were considered president-elect immediately after the election, because it was unclear who won until the infamous legal battle in the state of Florida was resolved.
Some public figures agree with Brennan’s assessment. In an interview earlier this week, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges said that there is a chance the U.S. elects a “competent fascist” for president at some point in the future.
Hedges claimed that Democrat Joe Biden — who is the projected winner of the 2020 presidential election — is unwilling to introduce major changes to the system and posited that Biden’s failures could pave the way for fascism.
