Republicans in New Hampshire are sounding the alarm about former President Donald Trump and his movement, warning ahead of the primary in the state that Trump's supporters are no longer supportive of the democratic system itself, reportedThe New York Times on Tuesday.
This comes after former President Donald Trump coasted to victory in a low-turnout contest at the Iowa caucuses, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis squeaking out a narrow second-place finish above former U.N. Ambassador and ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
The New Hampshire primary is next in the cycle, and polls suggest a tighter contest there even while Trump continues to obliterate all challengers in national polls.
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“A lot of the people that support Donald Trump really are fed up with democracy, representative democracy, they think that an authoritarian-style government would probably be preferable at this point, in order to save the nation or whatever,” said former New Hampshire Rep. Charles Bass to The Times, adding, “I don’t think they feel threatened by having somebody who at least has the trappings of being more authoritarian than past presidents.”
Bass previously voted for Trump, but says he will not support him again.
Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg similarly said that the MAGA movement has become “sort of a cult” around the former president. According to Michael Bender and Katie Glueck, Gregg still considers himself a Republican, and Trump to be a corruption of the party he has followed for so long.