PBS has had a special on McCarthy this week. The parallels to Trump are eerie.
McCarthy was originally a registered Democrat but moved to the GOP to take advantage of a more favorable climate. There were never any actual political 'ideals' that he held.
He took the seeds of fear and grew them into a crowd rallying around him to save them from the commie threat. They cheered him on and he ate it up.
He lied about the threat, claiming there were hundreds of commies in the government working for the Soviets. When asked for evidence he simply moved on to new lies: drowning the fish just like Trump does.
He constantly sought headlines and attention and told lie after lie to achieve it. The crowds cheered more.
When the people grew weary and he ran out of people to persecute for being communists, he shifted to demonizing homosexuals. McCarthy and his supporters claimed homosexuality put them at risk of being blackmailed by the communists. Despite the fact there was not a single case of this occurring, they went on anyway persecuting gays for their supposed risk of being blackmailed.
Constant vying for the spotlight, urging on a crowd of followers, lying constantly and lying more when challenged, convincing people they were threatened, persecuting a group to gain adulation and power through fear-mongering ...
Sound familiar?