On June 9, 1954, Joseph Nye Welch's poignant question during a Senate hearing led to the decline of Senator Joe McCarthy, who had been persecuting alleged communists. Welch's inquiry highlighted McCarthy's cruelty, prompting a public outcry and abandonment by the influential political figures of the time. In his new book, Clay Risen draws parallels between McCarthy's tactics and those of Donald Trump, depicting a current climate of political persecution reminiscent of the McCarthy era. Risen emphasizes that McCarthy was not alone in his pursuit, hinting at similar unpredictability in Trump's political maneuvers.
Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?
McCarthy was abandoned by those in power. McCarthyism had become McCarthywasm, President Dwight D Eisenhower joked.
McCarthy was not a lone wolf, Risen said, but he was willing to go and say things. No one knew what he was going to say.
Trump's political enemies are best defined as anyone he thinks wronged him in his first term, his defeat in 2020, his four criminal cases and in the election last year.
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