Bret Stephens is an opinion columnist for the New York Times. He’s a conservative, a former deputy editorial page editor at the Wall Street Journal, hired by the Times to help ensure that its op-ed page reflects a diversity of political opinions. I often find his opinion pieces entirely wrongheaded, but his column in yesterday’s paper was a bullseye.
Stephens is a Never-Trumper, and this latest piece describes the nature of the damage he believes Donald Trump has done as president. He did not, as many Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans had feared, send the stock market into the toilet, stumble into a war with North Korea or Iran, or so thoroughly subvert the rule of law that he was able to remain in office after losing an election. It was something worse. I’m not going to try to summarize Stephens’ piece; I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. But I encourage you to read it for yourself.