Fresh Air: U.S. Histories

Joe McCarthy Biographer Larry Tye

Fresh Air+ Only
Larry Tye discusses his biography of Senator Joseph McCarthy who led an Anti-communist crusade in the 1950s. More than 70 years later, Tye draws a parallel between McCarthy's tactics and President Trump's divisive rhetoric. He notes that McCarthy's chief legal counsel, Roy Cohn, served as Trump's lawyer and mentor in the 1970s. But beyond that, he says, both McCarthy and Trump are "bullies" who exploit fears and "point fingers when they're attacked."