NBC historian Jon Meacham wants an Avengers squad of Democratic presidents to solve the coronavirus crisis. He also wonders why so many Americans debased themselves and turned against their “better angels” to vote for Donald Trump. On top of all that, he laughably insisted, “I'm not a partisan, right? I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I live in Tennessee, so when I say I have conservative friends, that's redundant.”
Appearing on Thursday’s Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Meacham claimed that the current president has let the country down during the coronavirus. What’s needed is an Avengers team (full of Democrats) to save the day. He cheered, “The president of the moment would be an Avengers team. It would be Franklin Roosevelt with his sense of hope and his bold, persistent experimentation.” (Was it bold “experimentation” that caused FDR to think rounding up 120,000 Japanese Americans was a good idea?)
Meacham continued, “If we could have Lyndon Johnson who could make the private sector do exactly what he wanted them to do, and if we could have Barack Obama with that devotion to science and fact, if you could have that team at this moment I think we would be in better shape.” So, Democrat Roosevelt, Democrat Johnson and Democrat Obama? But remember, Meacham isn’t partisan.
After Colbert wondered whether the TV personality and historian would write a biography of Trump, Meacham declined, saying the really fascinating thing is all those Trump voters who have “suspended” their “better angels.”
The thing about Trump that interests me more than Trump is what he says about us. Why have so many Americans surrendered themselves to this figure of -- he's weaponized narcissism in a way that I think is shaping all of us for the ill, I really do…. I don't think I could write about him because first of all I don't know how much there is that we don't know, but I am interested in why so many of us have suspended our better judgment and our better angels in this moment.
But, remember, he’s not a partisan because he has “conservative friends.”
And I'm not a partisan, right? I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I live in Tennessee, so when I say I have conservative friends, that's redundant. I’m George Bush’s biographer. This is not a crazy lefty thing to say. As a clinical matter, if we're going to be, as we are supposed to be, driven by reason as opposed to passion, a reasonable person, looking at the way the President has acted, would find him just remarkably incommensurate with the task of the presidency.
In January, Meacham suggested that "monarch" Trump was now "above the law."
A partial transcript is below:
Late Show With Stephen Colbert
4/09/2020
12:20 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: You're an historian and write about presidents. What do you make of the President's response to the coronavirus pandemic so far? I mean, this is a great crisis, this is a great moment, and in great moments, great leaders rise to the occasion. Do you think he's risen to it?
JON MEACHAM: No, I don't. I think this is why we have a president. This is why we have a federal government, this is why we have a social contract, you know, that we surrender certain rights in order to be safe in greater numbers. The President is so intent on justifying everything he's done that he's acting more like a churlish monarch then a leading figure in a democracy.
COLBERT: I wish more of my guests used the word "Churlish."
MEACHAM: [Laughs] Well, here's what I think, if there were any ways to do this, we should have an Avengers team of presidents.
COLBERT: If you could have the president for this moment right now?
MEACHAM: The president of the moment would be an Avengers team. It would be Franklin Roosevelt with his sense of hope and his bold, persistent experimentation. FDR, brilliant line. He said, “Above all, try something. Try a method. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try something, and don't defend everything you’ve ever done.” He's also said, “I'm like a baseball player. If I could get a hit every couple of times at bat, I’ll be in the hall of fame.” He didn’t need to bat .1000. He knew if he hit .250, he would be doing all right. So if he could have an FDR, If we could have Lyndon Johnson who could make the private sector do exactly what he wanted them to do, and if we could have Barack Obama with that devotion to science and fact, if you could have that team at this moment I think we would be in better shape.
COLBERT: And Harry Truman for the Adamantium claws. Very few people knew that. Would you be interested in writing a biography about President Trump? You've written so many great presidential biographies.
MEACHAM: Thank you. The thing about Trump that interests me more than Trump is what he says about us. Why have so many Americans surrendered themselves to this figure of -- he's weaponized narcissism in a way that I think is shaping all of us for the ill, I really do. And I'm not a partisan, right? I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I live in Tennessee, so when I say I have conservative friends, that's redundant. I’m George Bush’s biographer. This is not a crazy lefty thing to say. As a clinical matter, if we're going to be, as we are supposed to be, driven by reason as opposed to passion, a reasonable person, looking at the way the President has acted, would find him just remarkably incommensurate with the task of the presidency. I don't think I could write about him because first of all I don't know how much there is that we don't know, but I am interested in why so many of us have suspended our better judgment and our better angels in this moment.
