“The rhetorical extremism, the winking at violence, the reveling in vulgarity, and the embrace of amoralism are not bugs but features of Trumpism. Intellectual and moral coarsening is both a condition and a consequence of the demagogue's success. Trumpism really does corrupt.”

—  William Kristol

Twitter post https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1053642303372386304 (20 October 2018) <br class="br">2010s, 2018

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The rhetorical extremism, the winking at violence, the reveling in vulgarity, and the embrace of amoralism are not bugs…" by William Kristol?
William Kristol photo
William Kristol21
American writer 1952

Related quotes

Mitt Romney photo

“Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.”

Mitt Romney (1947) American businessman and politician

Facebook, March 18, 2016 https://www.facebook.com/mittromney/posts/10153370698696121 <br class="br">2016

Christopher Hitchens photo

“There is a limit to the success of conservative populism and the exploitation of "little guy" or "silent majority" rhetoric, and it is very often reached because of the emaciated, corrupted personalities of the demagogues themselves.”

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist

"Nixon: Maestro of Resentment" (1990).
1990s, For the Sake of Argument: Essays and Minority Reports (1993)

Ian Kershaw photo

“On the nationalist-conservative Right… Hitler was portrayed for the most part as intransigent and irresponsible, a wild and vulgar demagogue, not a statesman, an obstacle to political recovery, the head of an extreme movement with menacing socialistic tendencies.”

Ian Kershaw (1943) British historian

Source: Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris (1999), p. 412

“…perhaps this is a "feature", not a bug….”

Paul DiLascia (1959–2008) American software developer

1995/10
About Microsoft

Patrick Swift photo

“They verge on the realm of the confession- hovering on that vital line between the simply revelatory and consequently vulgar, and the honest statement that is moral and consequently dignified.”

Patrick Swift (1927–1983) British artist

Some Notes on Caravaggio (1956)

Salman Rushdie photo

“Between shame and shamelessness lies the axis upon which we turn; meteorological conditions at both these poles are of the most extreme, ferocious type. Shamelessness, shame: the roots of violence.”

Salman Rushdie Shame

Source: Shame

“"The question is, is that a bug or a feature?" Karl asked.”

Rick Cook (1944) American writer

The Wizardry Compiled (1989)

David Graeber photo

“What is a debt, anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence.”

David Graeber (1961) American anthropologist and anarchist

Source: Debt: The First 5,000 Years (2011), Chapter Twelve, "1971&ndash;The Beginning&hellip;", p. 391

José Ortega Y Gasset photo

“What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit to any norm, you have, nolens volens, to submit to the norm of denying all morality, and this is not amoral, but immoral. It is a negative morality which preserves the empty form of the other.”

José Ortega Y Gasset book The Revolt of the Masses

Source: The Revolt of the Masses (1929), Chapter XV: We Arrive At The Real Question

Related topics