Norman Lear: Donald Trump Is Like Archie Bunker and ‘Bad For America’
Loud and clear, Mr. Lear. We hear you loud and clear.
June 03, 2016
Bunker (Wikimedia); Trump (Wikimedia)
Welcome back to #TrumpWatch, where Tablet presents the daily low-lights of Donald Trump’s attempt to use the dark forces of bigotry to become President of the United States. Today, let’s turn our attention to television legend Norman Lear, who recently weighed in on The Donald’s meteoric rise.
Lear, in conversation with Two and Half Men creator Chuck Lorre at a Writer’s Guild event, told the audience that Donald Trump “is Archie Bunker. I think of him as the middle finger of the American right hand.”
While there are undeniably some similarities between the GOP candidate and America’s favorite bigot—strong anti-immigrant stances, overly racist views, and a desire to return the good ‘ol days (the All in the Family theme truly reads like a Trump speech, e.g. “Those were the days” / “Make America great again”)—the comparison is perhaps a bit unfair to Archie. After all, Trump refuses to condemn anti-Semitic attacks from his supporters, while Archie spoke up for the afterlife prospects of the Jews.
Lear, continuing, asked, “Why is this happening? Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, can we all seriously agree this is bad for America?”
Yes, Norman, we can.
Lear, the creator of boundary-pushing shows like All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Maude, is the subject of a soon to-be released documentary called Norman Lear: Another Version of Me, and has been a guest on our very own Vox Tablet podcast (listen here).
Related: Trump Watch [Tablet series]
Jesse Bernstein is a former Intern at Tablet.
