Veteran newsman Dan Rather flamed Donald Trump as a charlatan and a threat to democracy in a brief explainer Wednesday of his opposition to the former president on X. “Let me make this perfectly clear. It’s not about politics,” the 92-year-old commentator began, adding that he’s voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past. “It’s about me, as a patriot, rejecting a cheating, lying, racist, treasonous, fascist, and vile man who attacks the free press, and wants to lead the country I love.” The sharp-tongued Texan is no stranger to criticizing the former president; in 2021, he told The Daily Beast Trump’s political rise gave him extra motivation to keep covering politics, well into his eighth and ninth decades. “His attacks on the press were widespread, unrelenting, and unlike previous presidents, he didn’t just attack individual journalists or individual journalist institutions, it was a blanket indictment of the press,” the former CBS Evening News anchor said. “Who would want to stay on the bench for that?”