--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: McCarthyism and Trumpism are very…" description: "\"McCarthyism and Trumpism are very different. They stand for very different things, but the technique of the big lie, smearing and telling lies, you kno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/jake-tapper-4443_big_mccarthyism-and-trumpism-are-very-differ_1689294.jpg" --- # McCarthyism and Trumpism are very different. They stand… ![“McCarthyism and Trumpism are very different. They stand for very different things, but the technique of the big lie, smearing and telling lies, you know, McCarthy was doing that. At the time, the media, Democrats, and Republicans were all paralyzed - not all, but most of them were paralyzed. They…” quote by Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/jake-tapper-4443_big_mccarthyism-and-trumpism-are-very-differ_1689294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/jake-tapper-4443_big_mccarthyism-and-trumpism-are-very-differ_1689294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/jake-tapper-4443_big_mccarthyism-and-trumpism-are-very-differ_1689294.jpg) > “McCarthyism and Trumpism are very different. They stand for very different things, but the technique of the big lie, smearing and telling lies, you know, McCarthy was doing that. At the time, the media, Democrats, and Republicans were all paralyzed - not all, but most of them were paralyzed. They didn't know how to deal with this.” [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts historical McCarthyism with modern Trumpism, noting similar tactics of big lies and media paralysis. **In simple terms:** Both eras use falsehoods to manipulate public opinion. Key Takeaway Watch for misinformation tactics. Themes politics media truth Mood critical concerned Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - election cycles - media consumption - public debates - policy discussions - civic education Key Concepts propaganda public discourse political strategy Questions to Reflect On - How do we recognize big‑lie tactics today? - What role should media play in exposing falsehoods? A Different Perspective Complexities differ; not all media responded the same way. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big/) [Democrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrats/) [Know Mccarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-mccarthy-1039116/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Mccarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mccarthy/) [Mccarthyism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mccarthyism/) [Mccarthyism Trumpism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mccarthyism-trumpism-1039114/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Telling lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-lies/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trumpism Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trumpism-different-1039115/) ## Related quotes > [What would McCarthy, what would Nixon, what would Bill Clinton have done if they'd had Twitter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/what-would-mccarthy-what-would-nixon-what-would-bill-clinton-have/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mccarthyism-is-americanism-with-its-sleeves-rolled/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/america-has-entered-one-of-its-periods-of-historical-madness-but-this/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [My bohemianism consisted of not wanting to get involved with the stupid stuff that I thought people wanted you to get involved with... namely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/my-bohemianism-consisted-of-not-wanting-to-get-involved-with-the/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I guess I was the most unbohemian of all bohemians. My bohemianism consisted of not wanting to get involved with the stupid stuff that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-guess-i-was-the-most-unbohemian-of-all-bohemians-my-bohemianism/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [“Of the things I had not known when I started out, I think the most important was the degree to which the legacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/of-the-things-i-had-not-known-when-i-started-out-i-think-the-most/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [“What was new to our ears these days, and thrilling to hear, was the steadiness and justice of those who spoke, the abscence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/what-was-new-to-our-ears-these-days-and-thrilling-to-hear-was-the/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [“There are significant analogues between the American fear of Communism during the McCarthy era and the American fear of Islam at the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-daniel/there-are-significant-analogues-between-the-american-fear-of/) [Ben Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-daniel/) > [In the early 50s in the US, there was what was called McCarthyism and the only reason it succeeded was that there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-the-early-50s-in-the-us-there-was-what-was-called-mccarthyism-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [As a human being with notoriety and a big mouth, I've felt most threatened during the first Bush Administration. 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American domestic policies were conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/american-foreign-policy-was-a-mirror-image-of-russian-foreign-policy/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“The serious Sylvia was agonizing over the execution of the Rosenbergs and McCarthyism; others were delighting to dream over trousseau lingerie at Vanity Fair's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-winder/the-serious-sylvia-was-agonizing-over-the-execution-of-the-rosenbergs/) [Elizabeth Winder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-winder/) ## More by Jake Tapper > [You know what takes effort? Being kind, being patient, being respectful, telling someone how you feel politely instead of just avoiding them for six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/you-know-what-takes-effort-being-kind-being-patient-being-respectful/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [My job, in general, is nonfiction, so writing fiction was liberating. If you can't find the answer to something, you just make it up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/my-job-in-general-is-nonfiction-so-writing-fiction-was-liberating-if/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I listen to a lot of criticism. From the Left and the Right and from everywhere. I mean, everybody's a media critic. And sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/i-listen-to-a-lot-of-criticism-from-the-left-and-the-right-and-from/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I don't really get nervous anymore unless there's a big interview.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/i-don-t-really-get-nervous-anymore-unless-there-s-a-big-interview/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [People mess up. 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My job is to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/my-job-is-not-to-be-liked-my-job-is-to-tell-the-truth/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [It took me years to realize I wanted to be in journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/it-took-me-years-to-realize-i-wanted-to-be-in-journalism/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [There are news sources that are just out-and-out lies coming from Europe, coming from other parts of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/there-are-news-sources-that-are-just-out-and-out-lies-coming-from/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [It matters to people that the president tell them the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/it-matters-to-people-that-the-president-tell-them-the-truth/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [My job is to be skeptical: skeptical of people like Edward Snowden and skeptical of the U.S. government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/my-job-is-to-be-skeptical-skeptical-of-people-like-edward-snowden-and/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I did freelance cartooning off and on from college graduation in 1991 through ABC News hiring me in 2003. I did a weekly comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/i-did-freelance-cartooning-off-and-on-from-college-graduation-in-1991/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I definitely pack coffee if I'm going someplace where it might not be available. When I went to Afghanistan in 2011, I brought a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/i-definitely-pack-coffee-if-i-m-going-someplace-where-it-might-not-be/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [ The estimated 11 or so million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States. 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I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I always want to do a big finale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/i-always-want-to-do-a-big-finale/) [Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [So I concentrated on the rhythmic side of things, and therefore left a lot of holes. 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