Final Word from Wednesday, April 5, 2023
The Economist wrote last week that it looks like a mistake for the Manhattan district attorney to prosecute Donald Trump, because the case against him is too uncertain, but that Trump nevertheless "remains a threat not just to America, but to the rest of the West too." David Brooks of the New York Times said something similar about Trump in Sept. "His prominence is astounding," Brooks wrote, "because over the past seven years the American establishment has spent enormous amounts of energy trying to discredit him. Those of us in this establishment correctly identified Trump as a grave threat to American democracy." Never did Brooks consider the possibility that the "many strategies deployed in order to discredit Trump" pose a graver threat to democracy than Trump himself. Trump and his Czech counterpart, Andrej Babiš, are self-aggrandizing individuals who will be gone before too long. A policy of containment rather than annihilation would probably do less long-term harm. [ Czech Republic Agrofert prosecutor arrest charges prosecution ]
Glossary of difficult words
prominence - the state of being important, famous or noticeable;
astounding - surprisingly impressive or notable;
grave - giving cause for alarm; serious;
to deploy - to bring into effective action;
self-aggrandizement - the action or process of promoting oneself as being powerful or important;
containment - the action of keeping something harmful under control or within limits; the action or policy of preventing the expansion of a hostile country or influence;
annihilation - complete destruction or obliteration.