The Left has gone so far into the dark corners of Trump derangement syndrome that even former President Jimmy Carter is telling them to slow it down or risk losing moderate voters.
According to the Associated Press, Jimmy Carter said during his annual report at his post-presidential center and library in Atlanta that Democrats need to resist going too far left, though he does admit to being no fan of President Trump.
“Independents need to know they can invest their vote in the Democratic Party,” Carter said, warning of the grave consequences of a “move to a very liberal program, like universal health care.”
That’s delicate — and, Carter acknowledged, even contradictory — advice coming from the 93-year-old former president, and it underscores the complicated political calculations for Democrats as they prepare for the November midterms and look ahead to the 2020 presidential election.
Though Carter admits that he and his wife Rosalynn voted for Bernie Sanders, he stressed how the Democrats must “appeal to independents” if they hope to build a successful coalition. He even said that running an establishment type would not alienate hardcore progressives, which is myopic, to say the least, considering that Bernie supporters stayed home or voted for Trump to protest against Hillary Clinton this past election cycle.
“I don’t think any Democrat is going to vote against a Democratic nominee,” Carter insisted.
The former president’s statement comes on the heels of Democrats openly embracing socialist candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while pushing universal healthcare and free education, et al.
Obviously, Carter is no friend to the Trump administration; he denounced Trump’s environmental policies as well as the administration’s separation of families at the border, a policy started under Barack Obama.
“America is inherently committed to human rights, and I think in the future we will let that prevail,” Carter said, “but for the next two years, I can’t predict the imprisoned children are going to be any better off — unfortunately.”
However, Carter does think Trump has been unfairly criticized for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In fact, Carter says he regularly corresponds with Putin concerning the Syrian civil war. He also praised Trump for taking action with North Korea by inviting Kim Jong Un to the table for negotiations.
“Let them be part of the community of nations,” he said. “I think that would be enough in itself to bring an end to the nuclear program in North Korea.”