BUZZ
‘This is the fight of my life’ — Thomas Friedman
New York Times journalists Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof joined former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ widow at Stanford University Sept. 29 to discuss “the importance of strengthening democratic resilience in the U.S.”
According to The Stanford Daily, Friedman told the audience that “Donald Trump’s attack on institutions like the justice department […] threatens U.S. democracy.” He noted his experience covering the civil war in Lebanon which taught him nations “can survive tremendous stress as long as its institutions endure.”
“This is the fight of my life,” Friedman said, adding it was the reason he “became a journalist.”
Friedman also claimed late-night “comedian” Jimmy Kimmel — briefly suspended for lying about the politics of Charlie Kirk’s assassin — only got back on the air because GOP Senator Ted Cruz had vouched for his “right to free speech.”
“Right now … we have to rely on courageous Republicans more than anything,” he said.
For his part, Kristof said his journalistic background in China “taught him the authoritarian playbook”:
First, authoritarian leaders corrode checks and balances within the government; second, they attack independent referees like journalists and lawyers; and third, they use violence as a force for intimidation. Kristof argued that Trump has employed the first two tactics, and expressed concern he may turn to the third.
“The pardons of the January 6 protesters … created impunity for violent acts,” Kristof said. “I think the use of masked federal agents who don’t offer identification is also a really gross step in that direction.”
At the same time, Kristof said his career taught him “what works to challenge authoritarian regimes,” including storytelling and political satire.
Oddly enough, during an appearance on CNN in early 2021 (below), Friedman praised Communist China because it has more efficient train service than the U.S. … and doesn’t waste time “thinking about a knucklehead who claimed 9/11 didn’t happen” or “some guy who is a QAnon shaman.”
In that same segment, Friedman poo-poohed the reported genocide of the country’s Muslim-minority Uighurs, referring to it as “bad stuff […] and all of that.”
On CNN, longtime commie backer Tom Friedman argued that China’s system is better because they have fast trains and don’t vote people like MTG and Trump into office.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 9, 2021
And downplaying the “bad stuff with the Uighurs,” he says America is “so deeply unserious as a country right now.” pic.twitter.com/nlz8v3h4Uu
Friedman and Kristof did offer a bit of bipartisanship at the Stanford discussion, conceding President Trump “is not solely responsible for democratic backsliding in the U.S.,” claiming Democrats have “failed the working class” (Kristof), and lauding Trump’s efforts at ending the Hamas-Israel war (Friedman).
MORE: Kristof says exiling campus conservatism hurts education, shows liberals are hypocrites
