Carl Bernstein said the explosive revelations in the book Fear by Bob Woodward make it clear that we are now facing a “national emergency” caused by President Donald Trump.
He said on CNN on Tuesday that the book brings us all inside the Trump White House, “and it is a horror show.”
Woodward and Bernstein together covered the Watergate scandal, and their reporting for The Washington Post ultimately helped lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Bernstein said Woodward’s book makes it clear that the White House staff is trying to protect the nation and the world from the president himself, who is described as a “rage-a-holic” and “unhinged.”
“The only previous time that I know of that it’s happened in our history is in the closing days of the Nixon presidency,” he said. “This has been true throughout the Trump presidency: Save the country from the president of the United States.”
Bernstein said the system worked under Nixon due to pressure from within the president’s own party.
Now, he said, that has to happen again.
“It is time for the Republicans to say, ’The Trump presidency is a national emergency and it is up to us ― both parties ― to treat the Trump presidency as a national emergency,” he said.
But so far, they haven’t shown any sign of standing up to Trump.
“What we have seen so far is an abdication of responsibility by Republicans in the Congress of the United States such as we have never seen.”
Fear will be released next week.
See the full discussion in the clip above.
