Jon Meacham: ‘Yes, [Trump] Is an Authoritarian Figure’

MEACHAM: “So, as you said the other night, the choice cannot be clearer. It just can’t. I don’t know how it could. And what a lot of — the people who are kind of on the bubble here, who are going to decide this in many ways, are people who have to say and who are in their mind saying, ‘Yeah, Trump may be crazy, but she’s a socialist,’ or whatever the but is to get to where they want to get, because they want to get to voting for — they want to get to voting against Democrats, right? That — that’s — and any — any justification, you’re going to grab anything on your way to try to get there. To me, the choice is, yes, he is an authoritarian figure. And just because it didn’t work last time doesn’t mean it won’t work this time. If it weren’t for Mike Pence, we very well could have created 14 days of chaos in this country that would have led to an election in the House of Representatives that would have taken a free and fair election away from President Biden. Right. I mean, that’s —“
BRZEZINSKI: “Jen —“
MEACHAM: “— and again, that’s not a speculating, that’s what they said they wanted to do. So the choice here has to be, not — all right, I understand he’s an authoritarian, but he doesn’t really mean it. Let’s try to be voters who don’t say but but say and yes, he’s a creepingly authoritarian figure, and therefore, I’m going to vote — I may disagree about policy, I may disagree about this or that with Vice President Harris. But let’s be clear, Vice President Harris is not going to send a mob to the Capitol and try to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.”
BRZEZINSKI: “Right.”
MEACHAM: “She’s not going to talk about the enemy within. She’s not going to do this. And we — if in fact — you know what? I remember talking to some folks during the 2020 cycle. If he wins, maybe this is who we are. And maybe that’s the complicated, terrible reality we’re going to have to confront. But let’s try not to be that country.”