Wow! New York Times NeverTrump columnist Bret Stephens comes around on Trump’s brilliance

americanthinker.com ^ | Thomas Lifson

[RoosterRedux]

I was shocked reading this column (non-paywalled version here) appearing today in the New York Times, written by a true NeverTrump conservative, Bret Stephens.

...

After briefly excoriating Trump for running on “fear” instead of basking in his accomplishments (which contradicts the political wisdom that voters rarely vote out of gratitude), Stephens gets to the nub of his semi-confession: Trump is really smart. Of course, he has to present that revelation in disparaging terms, but it is a couple of steps better than “Trump is an idiot.”

The mystery of Donald Trump is what impels him to overturn the usual rules. Is it a dark sort of cunning or simple defects of character? Because the president’s critics tend to be educated and educated people tend to think that the only kind of smarts worth having is the kind they possess — superior powers of articulation combined with deep stores of knowledge— those critics generally assume the latter. He’s a bigot. He’s a con artist. His followers are dumb. They got lucky last time. They won’t be so lucky again.

...

[But] there’s more than one type of intelligence. Trump’s is feral. It strikes fast. It knows where to sink the fang into the vein.

[RoosterRedux]

There's a noticeable formatting error in this article. The second blockquote appears to be a cite from the Stephens article in the Times, but it is not.

It is a continuation of Thomas Lifson's comment on Stephens.

[ronnie raygun]

NYT to Bret, your fired! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[wastoute]

I love all these libtard “journalists” “He should be running on the economy!” IOW, this caravan crap is killing us.

[ClearCase_guy]

Because the president’s critics tend to be educated and educated people tend to think that the only kind of smarts worth having is the kind they possess — superior powers of articulation combined with deep stores of knowledge

He lost me there.

Is Robert DeNiro articulate, with deep stores of knowledge?
Rosie O'Donnell?
Chuck Todd?
Nancy Pelosi?
Barack Obama?
Any of the NPCs?

These people are NOT articulate and they do NOT have deep knowledge. They are corrupt bullies and ideologues. They are outclassed in every way by President Donald Trump.

[RoosterRedux]

As an aside, I read the Stephens article yesterday and almost posted it here. But after a re-reading--thinking it was so negative--I decided not to.

That said, I loved the snippet about Trump's kind of intellect being "feral." That was a stroke of genius.

Trump is feral and that's what drives his enemies crazy.

[combat_boots]

[RoosterRedux]

Remember.

That is a comment by Brett Stephens, who writes for the NY Times...not Thomas Lifson of American Thinker.

[V K Lee]

Your tag, 2 thumbs up.

[combat_boots]

I should add, “Sssshhhh. The sheep aren’t supposed to have sense about wolves. They even follow a judas goat from among themselves blindly.”

[bankwalker]

Never, ever, confuse education with intelligence ... They are two VERY different things.

[VeniVidiVici]

I love it that the media takes offense to Trump’s call of “Fake News”, wraps itself in the First Amendment and then continues its “Yellow Journalism”.

The Media has done this before and continues Yellow Journalism now.

Sorry, Jim Acosta, your profession isn’t that much above that of prostitution.

[SarahPalin2012]

The article is meant to be very negative. It is a bad backhanded compliment — read it again.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Bret is a fake name.

[iontheball]

There is an answer to President Trump’s success, but Dimrats are not able to recognize it because they have no one with this character trait - LEADERSHIP. Trump is a bold, self-assured leader who acts on seven decades of life’s experiences and accomplishments, combined with a whole lot of good old common sense. His leadership instincts are now legendary.

[neverevergiveup]

From the article: "I have written previously that the real threat of the Trump presidency isn’t economic or political catastrophe. It’s moral and institutional corrosion — the debasement of our discourse and the fracturing of our civic bonds. "

This is a joke. Liberals don't care about 'discourse' or 'civic bonds'. They just want their way. As far as their 'intellectualism' claim, it reminds me of the lyrics from an old Steely Dan song:

"You've been telling me you're a genius since you were 17. In all the time I've known you I still don't know what you mean."

[RoosterRedux]

I don't know any prostitutes (though I do know a few lawyers), but Jim Acosta is way beneath the profession of prostitution in general.

I hold pickpockets in higher regard than Acosta.

[keat]

+1

[RoosterRedux]

For some reason, whenever I read anything in the Times, I feel like I need a shower afterward.

And it used to be my favorite paper...read it everyday.

I still subscribe to the NY Times crossword puzzle section. They keep my old brain sharp.

[Ann Archy]

Bret Stephens is a fake name....he has another name that is very Jewish...have no idea why he changed it.