Jonathan V. Last attacks Gerard Baker's belated Trump criticism as insufficient
The Bulwark columnist accuses the ex-WSJ editor of moral cowardice for framing Trump's failures as mistakes rather than crimes.
What to know
- Gerard Baker, a decade-long Trump defender, has publicly expressed second thoughts in a Wall Street Journal essay citing economic and military failures.
- Jonathan V. Last argues Baker's criticisms are insufficient because they frame Trump's actions as policy mistakes rather than crimes and constitutional violations.
- Last warns that defectors from Trump's camp should be scrutinized for genuine commitment to democracy rather than accepted without question.
“Even after Jan. 6, 2021, removed any doubt about the threat Donald Trump might pose to our constitutional norms and rules, I thought the institutions of the U.S. would be strong enough (as they were then) to constrain his worst instincts and intentions.”
Gerard Baker, Former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief · Wall Street Journal (quoted in The Bulwark) ↗
Gerard Baker Former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chiefJonathan V. Last Columnist, The Bulwark
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Last warns against uncritical acceptance of Trump defectors
Last cautions that as people leave Trump's camp, critics should not assume their maneuvering reflects a genuine embrace of liberal democracy, arguing instead that defectors should be "vetted."
“we should be careful not to assume that their maneuvering is a belated embrace of liberal democracy. They should be vetted.”
— Jonathan V. Last -
"It isn’t that Gerry Baker is incapable of calling something dangerous. It’s just that, to his mind, the only true endangerment emanates from Democrats. When it comes from a Republican, it’s a misunderstanding. Recklessness. *Insouciance*."
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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"Gerard Baker—once upon a time the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal—had a remarkable essay in the paper yesterday. Remarkable in its prissiness, foolishness, and cowardice." JVL breaks it down in today's Triad:
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"You pathetic worm. You mewling quim." You do want to read the whole thing:
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Jonathan V. Last critiques Baker's critique as morally inadequate
Last publishes a lengthy response arguing that Baker describes Trump's failures with insufficient gravity—as "self-indulgent" and "reckless" rather than criminal or authoritarian. Last contends that Baker's framing obscures the severity of Trump's actual conduct, including the January 6 attack, global destabilization, and institutional capture.
“There were no doubts. It was not a matter of what threat Trump "might pose"—it happened, in the real world. And it was not a threat, it was an attack.”
— Jonathan V. Last -
background
Gerard Baker publishes essay questioning Trump support — Wall Street Journal former editor-in-chief Gerard Baker writes an essay titled "Help—I Feel a Bad Case of TDS Coming On," expressing second thoughts about his decade-long defense of Trump after witnessing economic and foreign policy failures.