Great piece by a great historian. Just as the memory of "the lost cause" became a central pillar of white supremacy in the 20th century, the memory of "Trump's valiant battle against the stolen election and Communism" will play that role for at least some Americans in the future. https://twitter.com/davidwblight1/status/1348056561319608320

I think folks outside far right circles don't fully understand just how fully elaborated their "alternate history" of the US is. In this history, McCarthy was a flawed hero fighting the good fight, and Nixon was treated so unfairly. https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1233980207192608770?s=20

Nixon's approval ratings AFTER he resigned were in the mid-20s, only slightly lower than the public approval for what McCarthy's committee AFTER he was "disgraced." https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/25/how-the-watergate-crisis-eroded-public-support-for-richard-nixon/

20-30% thinking favorably of McCarthy and Nixon after their moments of "national disgrace" is far from a majority of Americans, but it is A LOT OF PEOPLE. That number is also roughly where Trump's approval rating currently sits, AFTER the events of January 6.