Background Briefing: August 24, 2020
The Trump No-Platform Know Nothing Party Convention
We begin with the first day and night of the Republican National Convention which according to the lineup for the next four nights is a celebration of the Trump Party and the Trump family many of whom will be the keynote speakers. Joining us is Sidney Blumenthal the author of a number of bestsellers, the latest of which is All the Powers on Earth, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln 1856 – 1869. He joins us to discuss his article at The Guardian, “How Donald Trump cancelled the Republican Party” and to point out that since this Trump Party convention has no party platform, the last time that happened in our history was when the Whig Party convention of 1852 had no platform and the Whig Party quickly collapsed afterward to be taken over by the Know Nothing Party. Since the modern day version of the know nothings are visible in the QAnon movement and the Tea Party movement whose stars like Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz are featured speakers tonight, we speculate whether the modern day Know Nothings are the future of the former GOP, now the Trump Party led by Donald Trump and his family.
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