'Demagogue': Watergate prosecutor reveals why Trump poses greater threat than Nixon
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about Wednesday's deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Eagle flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025.
Before attorney Richard J. Davis served as assistant treasury secretary in the Carter Administration, he was a Watergate assistant special prosecutor. Davis, half a century after Watergate, makes a Donald Trump/Richard Nixon comparison in op-ed published by The Hill on February 21 — and wonders if President Trump will be able to collapse U.S. democracy in ways that Nixon wasn't.
"President Trump has now made clear he believes he is above the law, posting on social media, 'He who saves his country does not violate any Law,'" Davis warns. "This is not the first time that the U.S. has faced the danger of a president ignoring the law and potentially even defying a court order. Over 50 years ago, we escaped that risk during Watergate. But unless the public better understands the dangers of an 'I am above the law' president, the result today will not be the same."
The attorney stresses that the United States has a much different "media environment" than it did during Nixon's presidency.
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"We obviously no longer live in 1973," Davis writes. "Trump is an effective demagogue, and he has created a climate of fear that has led to a Republican Party dominated by officeholders fearful of meaningfully challenging him or who share his disdain for constitutional norms. In 1973, the non-print media reporting the news was largely three respected national television networks. Today, we have Fox News, many other right-wing media and parts of social media that are all willing to parrot Trump's propaganda rather than challenge the legality of his actions."
Davis continues, "Most important, however, we have a large percentage of the public seemingly not sufficiently motivated to rise up in protest to demand action from their elected leaders when Trump — and his 'co-president,' Elon Musk — simply ignore the law or threaten to defy court orders. The changed media environment and Trump’s demagogic skills reinforce this."
Trump's opponents, according to Davis, "must find better ways to warn all Americans of the dangers of a president ignoring the requirements of statutes passed by Congress or the orders of courts declaring executive actions illegal."
"Our democracy has flourished for nearly 250 years because the respective roles of the three branches of government were respected," Davis argues. "The Congress makes the law, the president implements and enforces the law, and the Supreme Court both interprets the law and makes sure the other branches abide by any legal or constitutional restrictions. With all the problems that now exist in America, this system of government has enabled us to become the most successful nation in history. It is up to all of us to do all that we can to preserve it."
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Richard J. Davis' full op-ed for The Hill is available at this link.
