The left is crying foul because they think Lauer’s questioning was disproportionate, but in truth he went very soft on her considering the scandals in her wake. There can be no proportional lines of inquiry between her and Trump when she is the one who has the disproportionately horrific track record of abuse, opportunism, corruption and devastation to answer for.
The criticism rings hollow because Trump does not need to answer for an off hand layman’s opinion on the Iraq invasion. He may have voiced support in 2002. But he is not responsible for the invasion, the strategy, the tactics; had no vote to authorize use of force, had no access to intelligence information, and had no oversight responsibilities. Just months after the 9-11 attacks, the entire country was united behind the principle that we had to smoke out and hunt down those responsible for the attack. A lifelong New Yorker interviewed on a New York comedy radio show voicing support for the President in the wake of a national tragedy can be forgiven in all proper context. I mentioned proportionality in my post above, the left should pay heed to not disproportionately mistake a statement of solidarity and patriotism as some kind of treachery.
Trump was a civilian, and like all of us, sold the strategy by everyone in positions of authority and with access to intelligence not just here but in the UK and Europe too. The only people truly responsible for these decisions are those in office at the time, including Hillary. And the left need to be careful lest they be called hypocrites. In 2002 some 80% of Americans supported the war in Iraq. Many people changed their minds since then. Trump is entitled to that same prerogative, as his was just the opinion of a citizen civilian. Only those in positions of power, who voted in Congress to authorize the invasion have to answer for it.
And I am not sure this line of attack on Lauer will work for the same reasons. Many Americans hold a different opinion today than they did in 2002. They probably wont judge him for changing his mind like they did, especially if he did it before it was fashionable. Only Hillary has to explain her support, her vote to use force, and moreso her continuation of the policy a decade later as Secretary of State that spread conflict to Libya, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and ISIS, all resulting from a relentless hawkishness that actually goes all the way back to policies enacted and supported and escalated by her husband. So I think all this crying and whining may backfire. It should.