Though Donald Trump is now possibly facing a third indictment, he’s still making plans for legislative moves in 2025, should he get elected again. And, according to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” crew, those plans are reminiscent of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
During Tuesday morning’s episode, host Mika Brzezinski cited reporting from The New York Times, that indicates Trump and his team are looking to expand presidential powers in 2025, using a “decades-old conservative legal theory, which rejects the idea of a three-branch system of government and the fundamental concept of checks and balances.”
“Well, if you love Mussolini, you will love what Donald Trump is talking about for 2025,” NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss said. “Mussolini followed the unitary executive theory too, which meant total power to the dictator, no constraints. This is about as un-American, I think you will all agree, as anything I’ve ever heard.”
Beschloss also pointed out that the concept of checks and balances itself was originally created by a conservative, and lamented how the party has changed and fallen.
“That’s all James Madison, who used to be a conservative hero. Now comes along Donald Trump, the first major candidate in American history to say outright ‘I want a presidential dictatorship,’” he added. “I can’t think of anything that’s more out of the American tradition.”
Host Joe Scarborough readily agreed, saying Trump’s plans are “exactly what fascists do.”
You can watch the full discussion from “Morning Joe” in the video above.
