GOP candidates must answer tough questions about Trump’s outright 'fascism': columnist

Apart from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), most of the 2024 GOP presidential candidates have offered only mild, tepid criticism of frontrunner Donald Trump.

In a scathing op-ed published on September 26, the Daily Beast's David Rothkopf argues that debate moderators mustn't allow the candidates to "dodge" tough questions about Trump's extremism.

During the September 23-24 weekend, Rothkopf notes, Trump "turned up his fascism to 11" when he advocated government censorship of the media and called for the execution of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley.

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"Trump wrote a screed condemning Gen. Mark Milley, a patriot who rightly saw his duty as mitigating the risks Trump posed to the world," the author and Daily Beast writer observes. "In it, he said Milley's outreach efforts to China — to reduce the risk of a possible Trump-incited nuclear war — was 'an act so egregious that in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.'"

Rothkopf continues, "Then, he wrote that if reelected, he would investigate Comcast — owners of NBC and MSNBC, and a business partner of debate co-host Univision — for 'Country Threatening Treason.' He added that under his administration, 'they and others of the lamestream media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things and events.'"

The second GOP presidential debate, hosted by Fox Business and the Spanish-language Univision, is set for this Wednesday, September 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Rothkopf stresses that the candidates must not be allowed to "dodge" questions about Trump's overt authoritarianism.

"So, the question before every American right now — and especially before the so-called leaders of the Republican Party — is: Do you support a president who threatens his critics with death?" Rothkopf warns. "Do you support a president who seeks to silence freedom of speech in America? Isn't it long past time to acknowledge the threat Donald Trump represents? To stop laughing it off or making excuses for it?"

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Rothkopf continues, "More importantly, real journalists would not only pose these questions, they would insist on real answers. They would follow up when the candidates attempted to deflect or dodge the questions. They would ask the debaters, 'How many crimes does this man have to commit or threaten to commit for you to dare to criticize him?'"

READ MORE:Trump will go full-blown 'fascist' as his legal problems worsen: journalist

Read David Rothkopf's full Daily Beast opinion column at this link (subscription required).