Discussing the Trump verdict in the second hour of Friday’s CBS Mornings, chief political analyst John Dickerson and CBS Saturday Morning co-host Michelle Miller acted as the unofficial Democratic response to Senator Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) interview from earlier as the partisan journalist (Dickerson) and wife of a far-left activist (Miller) smeared Trump voters as possessed with “cultish behavior” and “dangerous” views supporting a man who will “undermine” the country.
Featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers kicked it off with an attempted historical comparison suggesting Republicans are too extreme compared to the 1970s when a chorus of congressional Republicans forced then-President Richard Nixon out.
Dickerson huffed that “politics has changed so much, since” then, chiefly Republicans not respecting democracy because “we saw a test to the electoral system after 2020 when the loser of that race lied, and then some amount of the party rallied behind him” with “an attack on the Capitol” and have still refused to respect “norms.”
He then trashed Cotton for denouncing the partisan leanings of Judge Juan Merchan and Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg as “very dangerous,” because Cotton and others were “now running down the legal system for the purpose as a way to protect the president.” He predicted such criticism could cause another January 6 and further “undermine” our “system” of governance.
Miller then offered her mini-tirade, complaining Trump “has such a strong base, such a supportive community behind him” and that Trump voters — tens of millions of them in size — have an “absolute inability to see him in the ‘do no wrong’ category” and refuse “to say that he has committed any crimes, that he has done anything wrong, he’s a really nice guy.”
The wife of former New Orleans Mayor and current National Urban League President Marc Morial (D), Miller showed her partisan colors: “I’m curious, where — where does that — that almost cultish behavior come from?”
Dickerson did nothing to push back. He first explained Trump voters back him because “they see him fighting for them” so “intensely and personally” that they see “an attack on the candidate” as “an attack on [them].”
With that set, Dickerson added Republicans have a deep-seated problem that dwarfs any problem in the Democratic Party with seeing their political adversaries as “not just wrong, but evil.”
The segment closed with Dickerson somewhat gingerly arguing Trump’s lack of character was disqualifying (click “expand”):
DICKERSON: This is the most important question coming out of this entire trial is to remember what we’re talking about here in a presidential election. It’s a job interview for a very serious job and even if you believe he was wronged in court, that doesn’t mean he’s right for the presidency. And one of the things that this trial does, like all these legal proceedings, is they are a window into the character of Donald Trump, because people are under oath talking about his character, does he tell the truth? Does he honor his commitments? Is he fair in his dealings? They have to talk about this under oath and facts matter. And so, what does this window into his character show you from this case and from all of these other legal proceedings? And why does character matter in the presidency? Because it’s a job of enormous power, enormous responsibilities, and temptations and if you don’t have character, you succumb to all of that. And why does that matter? Because when you succumb, the stakes are high — in a pandemic, in a national security crisis, and the rest of the country pays the price. So, character is key to the job and this is a window into Donald Trump’s character and the jury decided that he lied, that he did not honor his commitments. Now that may, you may decide as a legal matter is not reason to convict him, but it’s not a reason to elect him to be president of the United States.
MILLER: John Dickerson, facts matter.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah. That’s good.
DUTHIERS: Wow. Brilliant analysis, as always, John.
Curiously, Dickerson closed out the show (instead of the usual week-in-review video mashup) and it almost served as a mea culpa by conceding Americans, in fact, think about more than this trial.
Dickerson first had to do some throat-clearing and a more muted denunciation of the people he finds so odious before pivoting to a glance into reality and wondering, “If we spent the energy we’re going to spend talking about this case on economic opportunity in America?” Thankfully, Duthiers had the right response (click “expand”):
DICKERSON: The second thing I would say is imagine if we spent the energy we’re going to spend talking about this case on economic opportunity in America. That’s what campaigns are supposed to be about, which is a full, national fight over whether people have a chance in this country, what they need from their government to help them — help lift them. What happened to the American Dream? What is America’s role in the world? Now, this sounds — like like stupid sort of goody-two-shoes stuff, but this is vital because people’s lives are at stake here and the country needs this conversation to take place so that it can put its future in the hands of the right person and the right administration and so, don’t let the election be stolen by these moments as serious as they are and as vital to the character of the people who want the job, don’t let them get hijacked for its entirety for this campaign.
DUTHIERS: Because at the end of the day, people will still need to put food on the table, people still need to pay for groceries, put gas in their car —
MILLER: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: — and pay for education and healthcare, and those are difficult questions to answer.
Having, less than an hour earlier, called Americans she personally disagrees with “cultish” in the brain, Miller insisted “people still need to look at their neighbor and still like them or at least deal with them.”
Consider taking your own advice.
Since he actually talked to Americans of all stripes during his man-on-the-street reports, Dokoupil closed with the right frame of mind: “And live with one another. We have to live with one another. We can’t expel anyone at this point and the — the bottom line is, it is a test for our country. If we pass, we hope we end up stronger.”
To see the relevant CBS transcript from May 31, click here.
