Noam Chomsky on the new Trump era | UpFront special

"The most predictable aspect of Trump is unpredictability. I think it’s dangerous, very dangerous," says Noam Chomsky.

In a special UpFront interview, renowned US academic and public intellectual Noam Chomsky sits down with Mehdi Hasan to discuss the implications of a Donald Trump presidency, on both domestic and global issues.

"He certainly is off the spectrum. There's never been anything like him," says Chomsky, an award-winning author, who is witnessing the 16th president over the course of his lifetime.

"He has no background at all in any political activities. Never held office, been interested in office. He has no known political positions," says Chomsky. "He's basically a showman."

Chomsky, who has spent decades critiquing US presidents, calls Trump an "ignorant, thin-skinned megalomaniac" and a "greater evil" than Hillary Clinton.

"Do you vote against the greater evil if you don't happen to like the other candidate? The answer to that is yes," says Chomsky, on Americans who cast their votes for third party candidates or simply stayed home on election day.

"If you have any moral understanding, you want to keep the greater evil out," says Chomsky. "I didn't like Clinton at all, but her positions are much better than Trump's on every issue I can think of."

In this interview, Mehdi Hasan and Chomsky talk Trump.

Reality Check - Did racism Trump economic anxiety in US election?

Before people took to the polls to elect a new president, analysts predicted that Hillary Clinton would win by a landslide. But in a shocking turn of events, Donald Trump nabbed the top spot.

How did Trump manage to win? Was it a boost from the economically "left-behind", as many seem to think, or did racism play a larger role?

In this week's Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan shows how it wasn't just economic concerns that drove voters into Trump's hands, but mostly racial resentment.

[jrtien]

Nothing worst than an interviewer who asks questions with that condescending way of trying to force the interviewee to conform to their views.

[TalkAsSoftAsChalk]

Noam Chomsky is such a legend. He can deliver the most amazing points with the calmest demeanour.

[adamhicks]

I love how Chomsky knows EXACTLY the point someone wants him to make, and how he so skillfully avoids making any point(s) other than those he actually believes/knows to be true. I have never seen someone so calmly unwilling to agree for the sake of agreement. IT GETS ME FREAKIN PUMPED

[SonicSnailEtc]

I actually liked how confrontational the interviewer was, it just demonstrated that Noam Chomsky can remain articulate and level headed in the face of contrary opinions. He doesn't need someone to agree with everything he says in order to make his point.

[MB-fyoz]

This interviewer is trying so hard to milk any critisism he can and changes the subject when I looks like Noam will disagree with his points. Sad.

[aemckee]

This journalist needs to be slapped into showing respect for this great intellectual. You never know, this could be Chomsky's last interview, as he's getting on in age, obviously.

[sh]

The interviewer is good for interviewing faceless politicians and dubious people. He does not have temperament or manners to talk to Noam Chomsky.

[MrLeiduowen]

Prof. Chomsky sticks to reason during this interview by Al Jazeera. He has been through verbal battles like this many times in his life and he is not budging an inch.

[taunnylippiatt]

Please allow Noam to finish his sentences. We are actually interested in what he has to

[fazbell]

Noam sees through all the smoke and mirrors. A man of clearest vision.

[BobSmith-tzuk]

"Noam Chomsky, I've invited you here today to make self-important statements showing how brilliant I am, ending each one with, 'Don't you agree?' so it seems like I'm interviewing you, rather than making a stream-of-consciousness speech. Don't you agree?"

[robertlevasseur]

Calm down buddy, you are not having a drunken discussion on politics at a noisy bar, you are interviewing one of the greatest living intellectuals.

[MikhailKalashnikovMiG]

The interviewer is going about this all wrong. He needs to ask questions from an objective perspective, not one based on pre-conceived opinions.

_"How worried should we be?"_
_"How worried are you?"_
_"Trump is so _*_bad_*_ in this and that; that's not how it should be isn't it?"_

How about "what are your opinions on this" or "how do you feel about this"?

*"Ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed."* - Bertrand Russell

[fabrizio]

Mehdi Hassan keeps thinking we want to hear what he has to say... constantly interrupting the guest. Terrible.

[DenverDonate]

Noam Chomsky is 90 and one of the few people in the world that's irreplaceable. He's sharper and smarter than so many people 70-years younger than him.

[KaninTuzi]

What an absolutely intolerable interviewer. Thankfully Chomsky calmly and patiently corrects him after his many poorly posed questions and assumptions.

[Qingeaton]

Interviewer has some or all of his opinions coming through his questions. Lame.

[garrickrespress]

"People say many things. I look at the facts." 😂

[sh]

Noam Chomsky is a genius. This interview was taken in 2016 and in May 2019 I salute him for his insight.

[kapaimana]

I could listen to Noams voice all day.... comforting intelligent and articulate. What a great mind.