The White House counsel under Richard Nixon, John Dean, spoke out against U.S. president Donald Trump today, writing on Twitter that he is "evil."
Not one to shy away from calling out Trump directly, Dean spoke out two days before the midterm elections on Tuesday. The president has been campaigning across the country in support of Republican candidates—fueling headlines along the way.
"Trump's is making the long nightmare of Nixon's Watergate seem like a brief idyllic daydream," Dean tweeted, referencing the major political conspiracy and cover-up in the early 1970s. "History will treat Nixon's moral failures as relatively less troubling than Trump's sustained and growing decadence, deviousness and self-delusive behavior. Nixon=corrupt; Trump=evil," he added.
Earlier this year, Trump described Dean as a "RAT" on his Twitter profile, sparking a back-and-forth between the two men. After Watergate broke, Dean worked with prosecutors and after being fired from his position played a role in implicating Nixon's involvement in the scandal.
"I still have trouble using the title Mr. President for someone installed by Putin," Dean tweeted Trump in August as it emerged White House counsel Don McGahn had talked to the Mueller enquiry. "I doubt you have ANY IDEA what McGahn has told Mueller. Also, Nixon knew I was meeting with prosecutors, b/c I told him. However, he didn't think I would tell them the truth!"
Trump’s is making the long nightmare of Nixon’s Watergate seem like a brief idyllic daydream. History will treat Nixon’s moral failures as relatively less troubling than Trump’s sustained and growing decadence, deviousness and self-delusive behavior. Nixon=corrupt; Trump=evil.
— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) November 4, 2018
The New York Times first reported that, echoing Dean's experience, McGahn had feared being set up to "take the fall" for legal decisions made inside the Donald Trump administration.
The Robert Mueller enquiry is currently probing the Trump campaign's alleged links to Russia.
After the newspaper's report emerged, Trump appeared to deny he was concerned. He tweeted: "The failing @nytimes wrote a Fake piece today implying that because White House Councel Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel, he must be a John Dean type "RAT." But I allowed him and all others to testify—I didn't have to. I have nothing to hide."
As the dust settled on the Twitter feud, Dean told reporter Jonathan Swan of U.S. news website Axios: "I am actually honored to be on his enemies list as I was on Nixon's when I made it there. This is a president I hold in such low esteem I would be fretting if he said something nice."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jason Murdock is a staff reporter for Newsweek.
Based in London, Murdock previously covered cybersecurity for the International Business Times UK ... Read more
