Atheist Sam Harris has been one of the most vocal unhinged critics of former US President Donald Trump. In his hatred for Donald Trump, he claimed that notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden was less morally reprehensible than the 45th president of the United States of America.
When Trump was banned by social media platforms simultaneously, Sam Harris cheered for it despite the ominous signs of censorship. It was a decision that was condemned widely by leaders across the world, including Emmanuel macron of France, Angela Merkel of Germany, the president of Mexico, members of the Parliament of India and many others.
There were many who warned Harris that he was widely wrong about Trump and although the former president is a fundamentally flawed individual, he is certainly not the worst thing to have happened in the United States. But Harris remained adamant in his assumptions. Thus, on the 20th of January, when Joe Biden took oath as president, he heralded the occasion as the second coming of Jesus Christ.
On Thursday, however, after the Kabul suicide bombing, when the cost of Biden’s botched Afghan withdrawal became evident, he finally conceded that he was embarrassed about the glee with which he had welcomed the ‘adults in the room’.
On the 20th of January, Harris had said on Twitter, “Feeling overwhelming gratitude for the adults in the room.” But by the 26th of August, it turned into an embarrassed “Publicly eating these words… syllable by syllable.”
Sam Harris is the same person who had once infamously declared, “Osama bin Laden, as a person, is far more understandable to me and far less reprehensible, personally, psychologically, than Trump.”
Earlier, he had said, “I find Trump more despicable than I found Osama bin Laden… With Osama bin Laden, it’s just obvious to me that he could have been a mensch in some sense, right? He’s making serious sacrifices for ideas that he deeply believes in. He’s committed to a cause greater than himself.”
It is not clear whether Harris still holds on to those opinions, given that over 100 lives have been lost to the Kabul airport attack, which was committed by ideological compatriots of Osama bin Laden, even if they belonged to a different terrorist outfit.
Whatever his opinions maybe, his opinions regarding the ‘adults in the room’ certainly appears to have undergone a radical change. Sam Harris is greatly fond of the American national security establishment, the class of individuals who are responsible for the current mess in Afghanistan and unleashing devastating carnage in the Middle East that has absolutely destroyed the region.
In 2016, the ‘rational atheist’ hoped for Hillary Clinton to win, a certified warmonger who presided over the destruction of an entire region during her tenure as Secretary of State. However, now he is forced to reckon with his ridiculous assumptions about the competence of the managerial class he loves so much.
But not everyone is ready to give Harris a free pass over the hysterical nonsense he peddled about Donald Trump. Gad Saad, a Lebanese-Canadian Evolutionary Psychologist, said, “Some of us tried to warn you but you were drowning in your hysterical and irrational Trump hatred. Next time around, don’t reject those with whom you share many values simply because of your tribal blind hysteria.”
He stated further, “Are you going to publicly eat your words regarding supporting that Trump be banned from Twitter? Deontological principles should NEVER be sacrificed at the altar of tribal hate.” Political commentator Mike Cernovich was particularly caustic in his remarks, suggesting that the ‘bin Laden admirer’ had gone into damage control mode.
Sam Harris is not the only person who has to contend with their flawed assumptions regarding Joe Biden. The mainstream media, which had worked hard to elect him as president, appears to have abandoned a sinking ship as well. No longer in a position to defend his botched handling of the Afghan withdrawal, even they are harshly criticising the decisions he has made in recent weeks.
At the same time, Biden’s approval ratings are at an all time low as he struggles to cope with the fallout of the Afghan crisis. And with the death of US marines and calls for him to resign, his approvability is expected to plummet further.
