"This is Trump's way of giving everyone else the middle finger"

"This is Trump's way of giving everyone else the middle finger" 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time Cologne/Washington. The journalist whose research contributed to the resignation of a US president 50 years ago is a guest on "Maischberger". Now he is supposed to explain Donald Trump's success - and the consequences with regard to Putin. US journalist Bob Woodward on the show "Maischberger" on November 20th, 2024. Bob Woodward has written three books about Donald Trump and has interviewed him 19 times. That's why the US journalist is himself an interview guest on "Maischberger" on Wednesday evening. There, moderator Sandra Maischberger asks Woodward, who is connected from Washington, how it is possible that Donald Trump did not fall despite all the research and publications about his machinations, but will move back into the White House. "We have a democracy in the USA," says Woodward. "He got the most votes, and that's why he will be president for four years starting in January." More than 50 years ago, US journalist Bob Woodward became known in Germany through his revelations in the Watergate scandal. At the time, he and his colleague Carl Bernstein reported on abuse of office and a wiretapping scandal in connection with the re-election of Republican US President Richard Nixon. Nixon resigned as a result of the revelations, thus forestalling impeachment proceedings. Woodward now goes not quite so far back into US history to help Maischberger understand Trump's recent success. Eight years ago, he spoke to Trump about power. Trump said: "Real power is... I don't like using the word, but real power is fear." Woodward translates the principle as follows: "In other words: If you make people afraid of you, then you have power. And Trump has done that his whole life.” The 81-year-old journalist points out that Trump is trying to fill cabinet posts with people loyal to him who are not even qualified for these positions. Woodward keeps finding new comparisons for this. It is like appointing someone as a reporter who doesn't know how to ask questions. And you would hardly drive to a grocery store with a red oil lamp in your car. In addition to images that convey Woodward's astonishment, the journalist has a sober analysis of this shadow cabinet of loyal, clueless people up his sleeve. “This is Trump's way of giving everyone else the middle finger: I do what I want.” Trump plans to create an “imperial presidency” in which everything the president wants will happen. “This is not an abstract threat,” warns Woodward. "No, he is the elected president with all the power that he will take over in January." The USA does have a system of checks and balances in which institutions control each other and limit their power. But now a president-elect has decided to fill the top positions in these institutions with people who have no idea whatsoever. This could be a catastrophe for the country. The consequences would affect the lives of all people in the USA, says Woodward. "Trump is running away from responsibility in a very extraordinary way." With regard to future US foreign policy, Maischberger cites a passage from Woodward's latest book. According to this, Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone up to seven times after the end of his first term. Woodward compares Putin to Hitler. "He attacked Ukraine in a barbaric way and says Ukraine doesn't even exist." It is known that Trump deeply admires Putin, and Putin has expressed this both publicly and privately. According to high-ranking members of the US government under President Joe Biden, Trump will "simply give Putin free rein" after taking office, said Woodward. The US journalist also believes that a nuclear strike from the Russian side is possible. So far, many official contacts as well as senior officials and intelligence agents have worked together to convince the Russians not to use nuclear weapons. "This opportunity to influence could be lost under a Trump presidency."