Former Trump Staffers Speak Out: His Election Would Mean The End of Democracy

Three ex-staffers for former President Donald Trump appeared on ABC News, speaking with “This Week” anchors about the possibility of a second Trump term. They said it was apparent what another Trump presidency would look like, and warned it would have devastating consequences for American democracy.

Dire Warning

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“Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it,” said Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House director of strategic communications. “I don’t say that lightly.”

Attempted Insurrection

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“We all witnessed [Trump] trying to steal a democratic election before,” Griffin continued, “and go to historic and unconstitutional lengths to do so.” In August, Trump was indicted on felony charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in which he was defeated by President Joe Biden.

No Holds Barred

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Trump’s attempts to challenge the results of a fair election, which included inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021, show “that he’s willing to basically break every barrier to get into power and to stay [in] power,” Griffin said. “I’m very concerned about what the term would actually look like.”

Easy Guess

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“We don’t need to speculate what a second Trump term would look like,” said Sarah Matthews, former deputy press secretary, “because we already saw it play out. To this day, he still doubles down on the fact that he thinks that the election was stolen and fraudulent.”

Unstable Genius

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“His rhetoric has just gotten increasingly erratic,” Matthews continued. Earlier in December, Trump refused to rule out abusing his power as president, should he be reelected. He told Sean Hannity that he would only be a dictator on “day one.… After that, I’m not a dictator.”

Believe What You Hear

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“Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s reelected,” Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chaves Rodrigues, said in response to Trump’s comments. “Tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one. Americans should believe him.”

Concerning Comments

Trump “has literally called for things like doing away with parts of the Constitution,” Matthews explained, and “wanting to weaponize the DOJ to enact revenge on his political enemies.”

The Punisher

The former president has promised to prosecute Biden if he wins another term. He’s been widely criticized for referring to his enemies as “vermin,” a phrase infamously employed by many dictators throughout history. Trump promised to “root out” these enemies.

Word Cloud

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A few days ago, Trump shared a post on Truth Social containing the results of a survey conducted by the Daily Mail. The participants were asked about Trump’s plans for another stint in office, and the resulting word cloud prominently displayed concerning terms like “revenge,” “corruption,” and “dictatorship.”

Open and Honest

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For years, Trump has expressed fondness and support for various dictators. Recipients of his praise have included Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Jim Jong-Un.

Bad Image

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“The fact that [Trump] feels the need to lean into being a dictator alone,” explained Cassidy Hutchinson, a White House aide and assistant to then–Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, “shows that he is a weak and feeble man who has no sense of character and integrity and has no sense of leadership.”