Rob Reiner: Trump embodies the 'fascism' Norman Lear devoted his life to defeating

07 December 2023

When Christian nationalists and far-right white evangelicals achieved prominence in the GOP in the early 1980s, two of their most aggressive and outspoken opponents were a liberal and a conservative.

The conservative was Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona), a scathing critic of Pat Robertson and the Major Majority's Jerry Falwell Sr. The liberal was television producer, World War 2 veteran and People for the American Way founder Norman Lear, who was 101 when he passed away on Tuesday, December 5.

Lear changed the face of American sitcoms during the 1970s, producing the groundbreaking "All in the Family" and spinoffs that included "Maude," "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons." While 1960s sitcoms were known for being cute and innocuous, Lear's shows were edgy and overtly political.

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On "All in the Family," the late Carroll O'Connor portrayed racist Archie Bunker — who often had heated debates with his liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic, played by actor, director and political activist Rob Reiner. In real life, O'Connor was nothing like Bunker; he was a big supporter of liberal causes, not unlike Lear and Reiner.

After Lear's death, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough (a Never Trump conservative) praised "All in the Family" as "50 years ahead of its time" and argued that the "shockingly politically incorrect" show is as "relevant as it's ever been" in 2023's tense political climate.

In an interview with Rolling Stone's Marlow Stern published on December 6, Reiner, now 76, discussed Lear's accomplishments and warned that 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump embodies the type of "fascism" that Lear fought against.

"The guy was a fighter, and he was tough," Reiner said of Lear during the interview. "I mean, really tough. The guy flew 57 bombing missions over Nazi Germany during the Second World War. He fought for this country and didn't take crap from anybody. The idea that less than 80 years after we defeat fascism, that it's staring us in the face again — he couldn't believe it. Where did the country that he loved so much go?"

Reiner continued, "I just hope that we get rid of Trump so that we preserve our democracy. All those people in the Second World War worked hard to defeat fascism, so the idea that we would slip into fascism less than 80 years later is unfathomable. He fought this his entire life. Everything he did was to fight for a more perfect union. And Norman and I had these discussions hundreds of times, and he couldn't recognize the country he fought for."

Reiner noted that Lear, with People for the American Way, was a blistering opponent of the Religious Right and Christian nationalism — which, Reiner warned, is a prominent part of Trump's authoritarian playbook in the 2024 election.

"Were seeing the Christian Right being the foundation for everything that happened on January 6, and we're seeing them embrace Donald Trump," Reiner told Stern. "It's that same fascistic sensibility: it's their way, and nobody else is allowed to have their thoughts. He's been fighting that for decades."

Reiner added, "We just finished this documentary 'God & Country' about the rise of Christian nationalism, and everything he's fought against still exists — and it not only exists, but is taking over. It has a major foothold on the American psyche. We have to do everything we can in this upcoming election to make sure it doesn't win. It's not an exaggeration to say you're either voting for democracy or fascism."

Read Rolling Stone's full interview with Rob Reiner at this link (subscription required).

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