Ron DeSantis is ā€œfundamentally authoritarianā€, but Donald Trumpā€™s quest for ā€œvengeanceā€ poses an even greater threat to democracy, Californiaā€™s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday.

Newsom took aim at the leading two candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination during a hard-hitting and wide-ranging interview on NBCā€™s Meet the Press, the final episode with its long-time host Chuck Todd.

ā€œI worry about democracy,ā€ he said. ā€œI worry about the fetishness for autocracy that weā€™re seeing not just from Trump, but around the world, and notably across this country.

ā€œIā€™ve made the point about DeSantis that I think heā€™s functionally authoritarian. Iā€™m worried more, in many respects, about Trumpism, which transcends well beyond his term and time in tenure.ā€

Newsom added: ā€œThe vengeance in Donald Trumpā€™s heart right now is more of a threat.ā€

  • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    in 5 1 years

    Ftfy.

    Newsom is positioning himself as the prepared understudy when Biden announces heā€™ll be stepping out of the race due to age related concerns. This will happen after there is effectively no time for a primary.

    The Democratic party is not interested in the opinion of their voters.

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Why would they force Newsom on us? Manchin is right there and has been the de facto leader of the party since 2020.

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          And I wouldnā€™t put it past the Democratic Party to try to force him on us.

          He would be less awful than Trump, and as long as that bar is cleared, the party will select the rightmost candidate they think they can get away with.