A lot of Americans are not racist or sexist — they're just angry, says NYT's Maureen Dowd
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is known for her biting wit — and her willingness to unleash it on Democrats and Republicans alike. Dowd has just published a collection of her acerbic columns in a new book, The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics.
The Pulitzer Prize winner shares her insights on the U.S. election with The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti and says that while Hillary Clinton relies on the fear of Trump to generate excitement, Donald Trump relies on the fear of everything.
"A lot of people — Democrats and even some Republicans — think that Donald Trump is so dangerous that Hillary should be given a free pass," Dowd says.
A free pass would not only be bad for Clinton, she says "it's bad for democracy."
"You just have to have accountability. Even if [Trump] does crazier things and seems more dangerous than her, we can't not… have a watchdog on her. I just think that's very unhealthy."
Dowd tells Tremonti that it's a misperception that she hates Hillary Clinton. In fact, she says emotions like hate and love and like don't even play a role in her view of politicians.
"I don't want to hang out with them and I don't write an ideological column — it doesn't come from the left or the right."
"My column is based more on Shakespeare and the ways that power warps people or rise to the occasion," says Dowd.
"A lot of Americans are not racist or sexist — they're just angry, and they have a right to be angry,"says Dowd.
"Republicans promised them a lot of things about fixing immigration, and the budget, and the trade deal… people trusted their leaders."
Dowd calls 2016 a year of voting dangerously because she says people have to choose between two of the most unpopular candidates in American history.
"Unlike the 2008 race, people are not voting for them, they're voting against them — they're just deciding which one they can stomach."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.