Tag: historian

Historian compares Biden to Lincoln, says 2022 elections are ‘easily’ the ‘most important’ since the Civil War

Presidential historian Jon Meacham compared President Biden to Abraham Lincoln Tuesday, arguing the upcoming midterm elections will be the most important choice that America has made since the lead up to the Civil War. 

Appearing on “CNN Tonight” to promote his new book about Lincoln, he was asked by CNN co-host Alisyn Camerota to “tell us why you think that this is the most important election since 1850.” 

Meacham responded that the upcoming elections are about a lot more than just particular policies.

“Well, I think it’s the most important election easily since that period because we are facing a stress test for the rule of law and democracies run not just on policies, not just about what a particular policy or tax rate is, it’s about an overall context of our mutual respect for each other as fellow citizens and a sanctity of law and custom that means that people who win elections legitimately get to serve in office,” Meacham said. 

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Meacham, who spoke at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, went on to mock former President George W. Bush while criticizing the Republican Party. 

“When you deplete the trust in the system, which is what is unfolding today around the country, and I will confess, as George W. Bush might say, I misunderestimated the power of the ‘big lie’ here, but it’s burrowed in and democracies do not long endure if everything becomes about power at the expense of winning humbly and losing graciously,” Meacham said. 

Co-host Laura Coates brought up the Confederacy and slavery before the Civil War and how Meacham compared them to Republicans who question the 2020 presidential election, noting how he wrote that both Lincoln and Biden had to deal with their own versions of the big lie, with Lincoln’s being that “slavery was a justifiable institution.”

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She said there were moments where, if Lincoln had succumbed to pressure to placate the Confederacy, history would have turned out much differently and told Meacham, “You draw these analogies in a way, I think is not always so obvious but it’s fascinating to think of how and where we are today.”

Meacham said the main question we must answer “for the continuation of the constitutional experiment” is “do we put our own interests above everything else?”

“If we go entirely political, if it’s entirely – every moment is this battle where it is cataclysmic – then the system doesn’t endure,” he said, reiterating that Lincoln could have chosen a different path. But because he prioritized democracy over his political future, “Abraham Lincoln, flawed, fallen, and fallible, said no. And he said no, because he believed fundamentally that slavery had to die and the union had to endure.”

Republicans are gaining ground in the crucial midterm elections, with Republicans focusing on the economy and rising crime while Democrats have sought to make the campaign about abortion and a “threat to democracy.”

Marilyn Monroe historian slams Netflix's 'Blonde,' says film is 'the definition of exploitation'

Marilyn Monroe historian Scott Fortner is one of many who are slamming Netflix’s controversial Marilyn Monroe film.

The NC-17 flick, an adaption of Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel, is a fictionalized take on the real-life actress and the struggle she endured during her brief life. The drama, directed by Andrew Dominik, stars Ana de Armas as Monroe. “Blonde” became available for streaming on Sept. 28.

While the film got a rapturous reception at the Venice Film Festival, it has been largely panned by both film critics and Monroe fans since its release. Many have said it exploits Monroe, who passed away in 1962 at age 36.

“As a Marilyn Monroe historian, it’s very disappointing that author Joyce Carol Oates and director Andrew Dominik have gone to such great lengths to victimize Hollywood’s most famous and beloved icon,” Fortner told Fox News Digital.

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“’Blonde’ is a fairytale that straddles a very thin line between actual events in Marilyn Monroe’s life and the false narrative Oates fabricated for her novel,” he said. “In this film, Andrew Dominik has gone even further with graphic, grotesque and disturbing adaptations of the chapters in the book. It is the definition of exploitation. And worse, it is the assassination of a woman who isn’t even here to defend herself and clarify definitively what’s true and what’s false.”

Fortner is considered an authority on Monroe and assists major auction companies in authenticating and verifying memorabilia. He owns the world’s largest private collection of Monroe’s personal possessions, which he shares on both his website and social media. Most recently, he is launching a podcast titled, “All Things Marilyn,” which will aim to explore Monroe’s career and legacy based on conversations with notable experts.

“Above all else, viewers must note that ‘Blonde’ was not a biography about Marilyn Monroe nor is this Netflix film a biopic,” he said. “Nearly every scene in the film portrays a mistruth or fabricated event. It does not tell the true story of Marilyn Monroe.”

Fortner has also taken to his website to publish an in-depth review after watching “Blonde.” In it, he criticized the film’s numerous inaccuracies on Monroe’s life, which he said are presented as fact.

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Like Fortner, Emily Ratajkowski took to social media to share her feelings about “Blonde.” The model, 31, admitted that she has yet to see the film. However, the conversations surrounding it have compelled her to speak out.

“I’m not surprised to hear it’s yet another movie fetishizing female pain even in death,” said Ratajkowski. “We do that in many, many different ways, but I want that to change.”

Ratajkowski compared Monroe’s treatment by the media to other modern-day stars who have suffered in the public eye.

“Look at Amy Winehouse, look at Britney Spears, look at the way we obsess over [Princess] Diana’s death,” she shared.

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Adrien Brody, who starred in “Blonde,” defended the project, insisting it was “supposed to be a traumatic experience.” The Oscar winner told the Hollywood Reporter that both the film and the book that it was inspired by are “rife with themes of exploitation and trauma” because “Marilyn’s life, unfortunately, was full of that.”

“I think that since [the film is] told in this first-person perspective, it works somehow for the film to be a traumatic experience because you’re inside of her — her journey and her longings and her isolation — amidst all of this adulation,” said the 49-year-old. “It’s brave, and it takes a while to digest. And I think it’s in conflict with what the public’s perception of her life is.”

Monroe’s official Instagram page has dedicated its most recent posts to her accomplishments as a star.

“Throughout Marilyn’s life, she never stopped aiming to better herself and her career,” one post read. “She studied under many coaches and was always eager to develop her talent.”

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“Marilyn dedicated her life to acting,” revealed another. “Once she got into the movie business, she got acting lessons and advice to help her succeed.”

Dominik, who has read many of the reviews, said that “Blonde” is supposed to be “a horror film.”

In his post, Fortner noted that the grotesque inaccuracies of “Blonde” make it a true horror show even for those unfamiliar with Monroe’s journey beyond the big screen. Rather than exploring a complex life that included both triumphs and tragedies, it only created a poor caricature of a star mocked decades after her death.

“In a 1960 interview with journalist Georges Belmont, Marilyn said, ‘The true things rarely get into circulation. It’s usually the false things.’” Fortner pointed out. “’Blonde’ is utterly atrocious, misogynistic and a fail in every sense of the word. My only hope is that it is perceived by viewers as so incredibly ridiculous, salacious and horrifying that the general public will switch it off and assume it couldn’t possibly be an accurate representation of the most famous blonde of all time.”

“We should all take comfort in knowing Marilyn Monroe is not here to witness this,” he added.

MSNBC historian pleads with audience: 'Vote as if your life depends on it – because it might’

MSNBC contributor and NBC News historian Michael Beschloss called to “vote like your life depends on it” during an appearance on “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” during which he also told the host, “I don’t know” if the country will survive this. 

Capehart discussed President Biden meeting with Beschloss and other journalists and historians to discuss the “trends toward autocracy” worldwide and the threat of losing democracy in the country. Beschloss agreed with Biden that this could be “a battle for the soul of America” comparable to the Civil War and Nazi Germany.

“If we were living in 1940 you and I would have said, ‘There is a serious danger that America would not be a democracy because A. there are people from within who want to make this an authoritarian system. And B. the Nazi Germans, the Italians, the Japanese, were living in a world where fascism was on the march,’” Beschloss said. “What we all said to the president was, this, 2022, is like a moment like that.”

“And therefore, this midterm election, and the presidential election of 2024, they said it was always the most important election in history. It’s pretty close to it. I would say to our friends, who are watching us today, vote as if your life depends on it. Because it might,” he added.

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Several Democrats and media pundits have invoked the mantra “vote like your life depends on it” for midterm and presidential elections. Former President Barack Obama similarly told young people to “vote like your life depends on it, because it does” last November to combat climate change.

Beschloss implied that the threat increased after the FBI raid against former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home based on Trump and the GOP’s response afterwards.

“What, you know, what is even worse than that? Kevin McCarthy, threatened—the possible next Speaker of the House if the Republicans win—threatened an attorney general, and said, ‘You better lay off,’ essentially, ‘You better lay off Trump, or else there’s going to be violence.’ When have we ever seen that before in American history? And even reports that Trump himself tried to send a message to Merrick Garland, that unless you get some kind of immunity, you’re going to have a civil war. That’s a threat. No one should make it, [especially not] an ex-president of all people,” Beschloss said.

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“And your last answer is truly the most frightening thing that I’ve heard, or that we can even contemplate. Are we going to survive this?” Capehart asked.

“I don’t know,” Beschloss answered.

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Jonathan Capehart’s paper, The Washington Post, previously published a piece from fellow columnist Max Boot that warned Trump returning to the presidency would be the “death knell” for democracy.

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