Former Vice President Al Gore: 'American democracy is more resilient than a lot of people fear'

Joel Ebert | The Tennessean

Despite saying America is experiencing the "most dangerous" period in his lifetime, former Vice President Al Gore told reporters before an appearance in Nashville on Wednesday that he is confident the country will recover.

"American democracy is more resilient than a lot of people fear," Gore said, hours before he was set to give a presentation on climate change as part of a global conversation dubbed "24 Hours of Reality: Truth in Action."

Gore's comments come one day after he offered a dire assessment during an interview with late night television show host Seth Meyers about the current state of the nation under President Donald Trump.

"I honestly believe, Seth, that all joking aside, this is the most dangerous time for the United States of America I've ever seen in my lifetime," he said. "There is just a radical all-out assault from Donald Trump on the values of America, the norms of America, the rule of law in America."

Gore reiterated his comments Wednesday, saying, "I do think that Donald Trump has been responsible for an assault on America’s values and norms and the rule of law, and I do think it’s dangerous."

The former vice president cited the Trump administration's decision to hold up military aid in exchange for "some partisan political favors" to Ukraine after it was attacked by Russia. "That's a real challenge to what this country is all about," he said.

Gore noted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, in which he told his father he would tell the truth because it was the right thing to do.

“That’s an example of American value that we should always respect,” said Gore, calling it "un-American" to punish people who tell the truth.

Discussing the impeachment inquiry, Gore praised the House intelligence committee, including chairman Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their actions while praising the witnesses who have given testimony so far.

"I don’t know how this is going to play out," he said. "But what I’ve been able to see of these hearings has left me extremely impressed with the integrity and character and courage of these public servants, many of them in the foreign service, who have had the guts to come forward and tell the truth about what they’ve witnessed and what they’ve had to go through."

More generally, Gore said when he talks to his "Republican friends" in Nashville about the impeachment inquiry, many have been quietly disappointed with the way their fellow GOP colleagues have tolerated any actions or comments by Trump.

But he noted that when President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, the disgraced Republican had 35 percent of the country strongly supporting him.

Asked how the country can move forward once Trump leaves office, Gore said, "We’ve had periods in our history that have been a lot worse than this and we’ve recovered."

He pointed to the Watergate scandal that embroiled Nixon, noting he was elected to Congress shortly thereafter.

"I kinda think that we’ll prove to be resilient again in the aftermath of this period," Gore concluded.

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.