Due to the unwavering support of the GOP and his Maga cult following, Trump has been emboldened to follow his dictatorial path. On the campaign trail for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, he pulls no punches. He is direct and forthright. He fleshes out the vision for his second term that basically replicates the Maga mission of Project 2025 established by the Heritage foundation. I explained this Project2025 in an earlier letter published in this paper. It is a stark blueprint for authoritarian rule that Trump is following. His second term includes: An expansion of executive power blurring the separation of powers, installing blind loyalists who support his extreme isolationist Maga agenda, taking over the Department of Justice, locking up his political opponents, even suspending parts of the Constitution to suit his agenda. As a footnote his comment at a recent interview hosted by his buddy Sean Hannity in an Iowa town hall comes to mind; to paraphrase: if elected he would be a dictator but only on the first day. Personally I think his dictatorial reign would be much longer!

Trump has doubled down on his harsh rhetoric describing political opponents as “radical thugs that live like vermin.” He said immigrants who enter the US illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country.” These are remarks that echo the language used by the fascist leader, Adolf Hitler, in his manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” to denigrate immigration and the mixing of races. Trump’s ex-wife Ivana (now deceased) said Trump kept an anthology of Hitler’s speeches called ‘My New Order’ in a cabinet beside his bed according to “Confidence Man,” a Trump biography written by NY Times journalist Maggie Haberman. In the book Trump told another reporter his friend “gave me a copy of ‘Mein Kampf.’”

Former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s newly released book entitled “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning” talks about that GOP’s unwavering support for Trump. I haven’t read it yet but can surmise as to some of its content based on Cheney’s book comments in recent TV appearances. She no doubt speaks to the fact a large swath of the Grand Old Party (GOP) surrendered its soul to Trump. It abandoned its values, democratic principles, even its constitutional oath of office countless times, transforming itself with a new identity as the anti-democracy, anti-constitution party. All this was done and necessary to support Trump and his Maga agenda; support shown by pushing his ‘Big Lie’ of a stolen 2020 presidential election even to this day, normalizing his violent vitriolic rhetoric, accepting his authoritarian tendencies, and remaining in his good graces by any means for the security of political futures.

In her book there is a most telling quote that demonstrates the dangerously anti-democratic lengths the GOP will go to support its guru. In the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection during Congress’ constitutional process of the electoral certification of President Biden’s election win, there were 147 GOP members who objected to the certification and as such signed a list to that effect of which one member, GOP Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee, spurted out to no one in particular as he inked his signature: “The things we do for the Orange Jesus.” We all know whom Green is referring to. In light of the aforementioned there is no question why Liz Cheney repeatedly stresses the existential threat Trump and his Maga minions pose to our Constitutional Republic. She also asserted once Trump is absent the political landscape, those Maga Republican enablers will be marked with the indelible stain of dishonor.

Are Americans ready to accept Trump’s authoritarian rule if elected in 2024? I think not. In my view most Americans believe religiously in democracy and cherish our Constitution as a legitimate roadmap for our nation’s governance. We are not willing to bow down and genuflect in deference to the ‘Orange Jesus.’ I sincerely believe the American voters who agree with me far outnumber those who are willing to sustain knee burns in paying homage to their master.