Donald Trump Has Done ‘Nothing’ That Compares To George W. Bush & Barack Obama’s ‘Moral Evil,’ Journalist Says
During an interview with Nick Gillespie for ReasonTV, journalist Glenn Greenwald took aim at George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s “moral evil,” which he suggested is far worse than Donald Trump’s. You can watch the video here.
“You go down the list, and when you look at things like the destruction of Iraq or the implementation of a torture regime, what has Donald Trump done that even remotely compares in terms of moral evil to any of that?” he asked.
“Nothing, and yet, you know, we’re supposed to treat George Bush and Barack Obama like morally upstanding statesman and Donald Trump like the literal reincarnation of Hitler.”
The author noted that while Trump has started no new wars, George Bush and Dick Cheney initiated them in Iraq and Afghanistan and Obama began new conflicts in Libya and Yemen. The journalist suggested Trump was unable to match his predecessors’ supposed atrocities because he is “incompetent and lazy.” Another factor, the Intercept founder said, is that he has triggered such a high degree of “anger and resentment and resistance” that it hindered him from achieving his goals.
Greenwald claimed that under Bush and Obama, the media was “dormant and complacent.” He pointed to the “radical assault on civil liberties” under Bush and Cheney during the War on Terror and continued to suggest that the media escalated its silence during the Obama government. The author also highlighted that under Obama, the Espionage Act of 1917 — which he called one of America’s “most pernicious laws” — was allegedly used against whistleblowers like Edward Snowden more than under every other prior president combined.
As explained by Press Gazette, Trump’s government is on track to exceed the Espionage Act cases brought under Obama’s eight years in less than four years. The publication pointed to lawyer and historian Carey Shenkman, who said during WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing that the Trump administration has prosecuted national security leaks in a more aggressive manner than any other president in American history.
Earlier this month, Greenwald opined that Trump’s administration has not done anything that is a radical break from the traditional actions of the American government. He also took particular aim at Bush’s administration for its alleged torture program and expansion of government spying power. The writer noted that dozens of people are still being held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where Bush’s program took place outside of the American legal system.
The former attorney argued claimed that many of the perceived atrocities Trump has committed were possible with the government infrastructure established by his predecessors.
