NBC News presidential historian and author Michael Beschloss on Monday urged Americans to take Donald Trump at face value over his comments and promises about deploying the military within the country to advance his own personal agenda, if he wins back the White House in 2024.
“Take it seriously,” Beschloss told MSNBC’s Katie Phang.
Beschloss recalled how some people after Trump’s 2016 election victory said his campaign comments about violence and presidential powers were “just bluster” and that he was really “a moderate who loves to make deals.”
“Remember that? That was all totally wrong. Take him at his word,” Beschloss cautioned.
Trump “has told us he’s going to use the American military” to “suppress his domestic opponents,” the writer noted. “This is what authoritarians do. This is what fascists do.”
Beschloss also expressed surprise at Republican 2024 front-runner Trump and his allies being so open with their intentions and suggested it was “probably not in his interest because if he wants to get elected next year it probably makes more sense to him to pretend to be someone who’s more moderated.”
Watch the full interview here: