Historian Michael Beschloss on Wednesday linked former President Donald Trump to a long line of "monsters" in American history that have threatened to upend and destroy the American system of government.
Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Beschloss drew a direct line from the American Civil War to Trump's efforts to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
"From time to time, America faces threats from monsters who want to destroy our democracy," he argued. "That happened in 1861 with the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln and northern soldiers came to our rescue and saved the union."
Beschloss also pointed to similar stresses placed on the American system of government posed by the Great Depression, World War II, and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
He then turned the conversation back to Trump.
"On January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump, just like those other threats to American democracy, tried to destroy our system, to take away our rule of law, came very close to doing it," he said. "It almost happened. And the thing is... it's almost happening again this morning... who is the Republican frontrunner? Donald Trump, threatening to do it all again but even more effectively."
Watch the video below or at this link.