PBS' American Experience documentary on Joseph McCarthy draws eerie parallels to the Trump presidency

The Daily Beast

The two-hour film, premiering on some PBS stations on Monday, covers events that occurred more than six decades ago, yet is remarkably—if accidentally—relevant today," says Lloyd Grove, pointing out that the documentary has been in the works since 2003. "Trump is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate over his alleged abuse of presidential power—the sort of potential comeuppance that McCarthy himself experienced." As Grove also notes, Trump and McCarthy are both tied to Roy Cohn, who was McCarthy’s chief counsel during Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953 and 1954 and Trump's attorney during the 1970s and 1980s. ALSO: The McCarthy film gives some illuminating human context to its subject and to the changing nature of American socialism in the 20th century.