President Joe Biden, who delivered what is likely to be an ineffective speech Wednesday night on the perils faced by American democracy, might want to keep in mind Sen. Gerald Nye of North Dakota.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Nye was at a rally for America First, the isolationist, fascist-friendly movement that claimed aviator Charles Lindbergh as its most prominent spokesman. America First, like Lindbergh, was openly racist and anti-Semitic. (Lindbergh worried that war in Europe might weaken defenses against the “Asiatic hordes” and “destroy the treasures of the white race.”)
Still, when a reporter informed Nye of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he did not unleash a tirade of racial aggression against the Asian foe that had launched the “sneak attack.” Another enemy was foremost in his mind.
