Dan Rather: America ‘Sliding from Extreme Nationalism into Tribalism’

A feeling of “extreme nationalism” has gripped the United States, according to former CBS News anchor Dan Rather.

“We have our differences and President Trump has found it to his … advantage to exploit those differences,” Rather said during an interview Thursday morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe while promoting his new book.

Rather continued:

We’re in danger of sliding from extreme nationalism into tribalism. In our country, which is a new experiment in history — first time in history any people tried to be free… we’re constantly trying to perfect it. It depends on [us] as a people, as a nation, that we agree on certain core values such as rule of law.

The disgraced former anchor’s new book, What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, is described on Amazon as “an intimate view of history, tracing where we have been in order to help us chart a way forward and heal our bitter divisions.”

In August 2016, Rather wrote that “to anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching,” adding, “We will soon know whether anyone who has publicly supported Trump explains how they can continue to do.”

On Wednesday, Rather said the so-called “fear” Americans are supposedly experiencing today is being caused by politicians, namely Trump.

Rather commented:

One of the main ways it is different here in 2019 than it was during the 1960s is that we are a richer mix of religion, race, ethnicity, and that has caused a lot of fear in people. There are any number of people who say, ‘Look, it’s not the America of my grandfather and grandmother, not even the same as it was during my parents’ time.’ And it’s caused by fear. And I think this is a very important point: This fear is being exploited by any number of political leaders. including, I’m sorry to say and there’s is no joy in saying it, the president of the United States.

However, during his speech delivered at the Salute to America celebration on July 4, Trump said Americans must continue to move forward together in the same “unity of purpose.”

“As long as we stay true to our cause, as long as we remember our great history, as long as we never ever stop fighting for a better future, then there will be nothing that America cannot do,” the president said.

“The future belongs to the brave, the strong, the proud, and the free,” Trump continued. “We are one people, chasing one dream, and one magnificent destiny. We all share the same heroes, the same home, the same heart, and we are all made by the same Almighty God.”