Democratic President Jimmy Carter died in December at the age of 100. Carter was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."
People across the globe referred to Carter's lifetime of charitable works, personal integrity, and unwavering faith as a representation of the "best of us."
MAGA Republican President Donald Trump is unlikely to receive the same tributes.
Convicted of 34 felonies, credibly accused by multiple women of sexual assault, openly bragging about assaulting women and walking into dressing rooms with naked 15-17 year old girls, committing financial fraud under the guise of running a charity, cheating workers and contractors, and a history of racism, sexism, and other bigotry isn't likely to endear Trump to anyone who doesn't hold the same beliefs.
Not to mention the moral failing of Trump's years of close friendship and partying with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his refusal to release the Epstein files being ignored or overlooked by his MAGA minions.
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Veteran actor Jeff Daniels touched on this moral decay facilitated by Trump when he recently joined Nicolle Wallace on her The Best People podcast for a wide-ranging interview.
Daniels spoke about the art of acting and his career, but the duo also took a deep dive into politics.
Daniels, like most actors who are asked to play real people, studied President Ronald Reagan before taking on the role for the upcoming historical drama film Reykjavík. His research into the 1980s GOP left him in disbelief over how far the Republican Party had fallen under the influence of a professional grifter like Trump.
Daniels shared:
"We’ve lost decency. We’ve lost civility. We’ve lost respect for the rule of law."
"We’ve normalized verbal abuse. We’ve normalized bullying."
"Out the window goes character, integrity. We’re supposed to elect the best of us, not the worst of us."
"He’s everything that’s wrong with not just America, but being a human being."
You can watch the moment here:
Daniels also blamed former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the blocking and obstructionism that stacked the Supreme Court with picks by the Christian nationalist Heritage Foundation.
Daniels words were met with mostly vitriol on Elon Musk's X, but still reasonated with the majority of listeners across social media platforms.
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Daniels' words also sparked debate on Reddit.
People hashed out Trump’s role as the cause, the catalyst, or the consequence of inattention to misinformation and hate groups.
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Daniels ended with how he copes:
"I still have hope. It may come down right now to get up today and just do one thing that's good. For someone else, for yourself, for someone else, one little hour of hope a day."
"Let's start there because I can't keep up with the chaos...."
"You just got to find the flower that comes up through the cracks of the sidewalk or something."
That sounds like a good place to start.
You can watch the full 41 minute podcast here:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images