A Republic, If We Can Keep It

A Republic, If We Can Keep It

Author’s Note

This short reflection is a companion to my longer essay “McCarthy Smile, Trumps Echo” on McCarthyism and Trumpism ” It emphasizes the dangerous mix of authoritarian playbooks, social media’s amplifying power, and press complicity — reminding us that Franklin’s warning is not history, but a test for today.

Today a shadow hangs over America. Donald Trump follows a playbook familiar from the 1930s: delegitimize opponents, denounce the press, and inspire violence while insisting he alone embodies the nation. Hermann Goering could have only dreamt of the propaganda possibilities that social media now provides.

Trump has a long history of inciting rage against journalists and political opponents. Yet much of the press, driven by self-interest and clicks, continues to treat him as normal. Networks end contracts with people he dislikes, adopt “both-sides” narratives, and bow to his narcissistic fury. Benjamin Franklin’s warning — “A Republic, if you can keep it” — feels painfully apt.

The echoes of McCarthyism are unmistakable. McCarthy’s baseless “205 Communists” list, his attacks on George Marshall, his denunciations of generals and statesmen — all flourished in an atmosphere of fear. Eisenhower privately loathed McCarthy’s demagoguery but failed to defend Marshall publicly, a silence he later regretted. Half of America once admired McCarthy’s tactics.

The connection is not only rhetorical but personal. Roy Cohn, McCarthy’s ruthless counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings, later became Donald Trump’s mentor and fixer. The strategy is the same: smear, intimidate, and delegitimize. Then as now, the phrase “enemy of the people” is wielded to obscure truth, destroy accountability, and render reality relative.

What is most disturbing is the complicity of the media. In the 1950s, it took Edward R. Murrow and live television to puncture McCarthy’s spell. Today, journalism too often amplifies rather than resists. If truth becomes just another opinion, and if the press bows to outrage, the Republic itself may slip away.

WJJH, September, 2025

📌 Blog Excerpt

A shadow hangs over America. Donald Trump follows a familiar playbook: delegitimize opponents, denounce the press, and inspire violence while demanding loyalty. Hermann Goering could have only dreamt of the power of today’s social media. What makes this moment more dangerous than McCarthy’s Red Scare is not only the scale but the complicity of the press. Then as now, journalists risk becoming props in a theatre of accusation. Franklin’s warning — “A Republic, if we can keep it” — rings louder than ever. If truth becomes relative, and outrage is treated as just another side of politics, the Republic itself may slip away.