The Danger of Donald Trump Has Only Grown Since 2020

Remember this? The sadism, the stupidity, the self-aggrandizing lies — these were the staples of our national news diet every day for four straight years. But while the bitter taste of Donald Trump’s demagoguery has lingered on the political palate, thanks to his acolytes in Washington and state governments across the country, the intensity of the flavor has diminished over the past couple years — its harshness tempered, somewhat, by the refreshingly bland competence of Joe Biden. In its town hall Wednesday, though, CNN served up a warmed over tasting menu of Trump’s most objectionable fare, and while it was an hour of empty calories at best and poison at worst, there may at least be some use in the stomach ache it left us nursing.

After dominating the national conversation for half a decade, the twice-impeached former president has been far easier to ignore since leaving office, emerging from his far-right media rabbit hole mostly just to drag the GOP down in another election, have his home raided by the FBI, get indicted on felony charges related to hush money payments to an adult film star and be found liable for sexual abuse. But Kaitlan Collins’ primetime CNN interview with him, which apparently left staff at the network demoralized and frustrated with CEO Chris Licht, put Trump back on the center stage of American politics, literally and figuratively. And though it was a thoroughly revolting affair, the hour-long dose of raw, uncut Trump did serve to show that he isn’t only as bad as Americans remember him; he’s much, much worse.

Addressing a friendly crowd of Republicans in New Hampshire, and more than three million Americans watching on television, Trump was given a platform to, among other things: pressure Republicans to force a debt default, which he suggested could be “nothing”; further smear E. Jean Carroll; and spin more lies about the 2020 election he lost and the Capitol attack he inspired. “It was a beautiful day,” Trump said of January 6, 2021.

Trump’s presidency was defined by his cruelty, his madness, his disdain for norms. But the comparatively more establishment figures around him at least exerted a nominal check on his power for some of his term. On Wednesday, though, Trump was a man totally unbound — by Collins, by reality, by democratic politics, by anything but his own impulses. CNN’s presentation of all this was deeply negligent and misguided, and suggests that it failed to learn a fundamental lesson from the 2016 election: While sunlight is the best disinfectant, it also helps things grow. Trump’s campaign flourished under the attention the networks shone on him that cycle — and his aides were reportedly “thrilled” to have him basking in the CNN cameras’ glow once again. 

But seeing Trump like this — without mediation of spokespeople, without the psychic distance of one of his social media posts — was also a reminder not only of the danger he represents, but of how that danger has grown since 2020:  “From my perspective, there was an evolution of Donald Trump over his four years, with 2020 I think being the most dramatic example of him — the real him,” as his former Defense secretary, Mark Esper, told the New York Times. “And I suspect that would be his starting point if he were to win office in 2024.”

CNN was irresponsible in lending its platform to such a figure, in the way that it did. And yet, some good could still come of it, if it serves as a reminder — to anyone who needs one — of the enormous stakes of this election: Think an hour of this shit was stomach-churning? Imagine another four years.