Over at the Gaslit Nation podcast, guest Greg Sargent contends that the ‘90s, under the influence of Newt Gingrich and his ilk, are the origin of contemporary Trumpism. Sargent points to the craziness of anti-Clinton conspiracy theories as the beginning of our current condition.
(Our current condition is one in which lies don’t have to be convincing, they just have to be spoken by a Trumpist, in original English or in translation from Russian.)
One might point to other believable origins for our polluted atmosphere of lies, but Sargent’s favored genesis is a plausible one. (His is an observation about the national origins of a national condition; there are almost certainly local causes, in towns across America, that allowed this national disorder to spread.)
Immediately below is a clip with Sargent’s observation, and then a link to the full episode.
Clip:
Podcast link: Gaslit Nation.
See also Sargent, An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics.