When Republicans cast doubt on Trump’s intent — and ate their words

As Donald Trump’s rhetoric has taken a turn for the authoritarian in the 2024 campaign, his party has largely stood back and stood by.

Republicans have shrugged at Trump’s pledge to make his second presidential term about retribution against his enemies. When he floated the “termination” of articles of the Constitution, they largely ignored it. The same went for his recent decision to invoke the “vermin” rhetoric of infamous fascists. And when he said recently that he would be a dictator but only on Day One of a second term, they dismissed it as a mere joke — just before he doubled down. He appeared serious; the joke was on them.