Iowa GOP lawmaker defends Trump fans who want to secede: They want 'to preserve the principles of our republic'

In a guest column in the Des Moines Register, a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives said he understood why 52% of Donald Trump supporters want to secede from the United States.

Responding to an opinion piece by columnist Reka Basu, written before Donald Trump's Des Moines rally on Saturday, which lamented the fact that the former president is still claiming the election is stolen, Rep. Steven Holt (R) agreed that the country is divided.

While Basu suggested lawmakers come together, hoping for a "courageous, trustworthy kind of leadership. One that rises above partisanship and reaches out to all constituencies, urban and rural, white and of color, and of every class, formally educated and not. It'll take grass roots efforts to correct the misinformation and surmount the distrust and divisiveness, so that facts are not red or blue; they're just facts," Holt agreed to a degree with her but also claimed there maybe too big of a divide.

"I read with amused frustration Rehka Basu's Oct. 8 opinion piece in which she spoke of the parallel universe she felt she was living in, seemingly oblivious to the reasons that 52% of Donald Trump supporters favor seceding from the Union," he wrote before addressing the columnist with, "Rehka, those 52% understand what America once was and what it is becoming. They cherish their freedom and liberty, they understand the importance of our founding values, and they see the destruction of those values taking place before their eyes."

Adding, "Almost everything about America that would previously have been thought to be unthinkable is now taking place.," Holt ticked off a checklist of grievances against Joe Biden's administration from the departure from Afghanistan to Americans using the social safety net as a "hammock" they never have to leave to the current conservative bête noire: critical race theory.

Holt continued, "Rehka, the 52% see clearly what is happening to America, and while I still believe in our great nation and our ability to recognize and change the destructive path we are on, I understand why so many Americans believe that our only alternative is a reset. Put this reality together with the fact that 41% of Biden supporters favor secession precisely so they can bring to fruition that which Trump supporters so adamantly oppose, and the challenges before us become crystal clear"

"So, 52% of Trump supporters favor secession to preserve the principles of our republic, while 41% of Biden supporters favor secession in order to destroy them," he concluded.

You can read the whole thing here.

In other news Tuesday, a pro-Trump candidate suggested "taking all the boats out of the water" to lower sea levels. WATCH:

Pro-Trump candidate suggests taking 'all the boats out of the water' to lower sea levelsyoutu.be