donald trump, if he hears something on msnbc or another network that he doesn t like something he reads in the new york times, which is probably pretty likely, he can do a lot to have what we do, what all of us do, stilled and perhaps even those organizations abolished. we have never seen anything like this in american history. all i m saying to our friends who are watching us tonight, take this very seriously. don t think this is a joke. right, and mr. stanton, i struggle to find the liberals who created the executive branch. i struggle to find them in the people such as mr. madison and jefferson. they weren t liberals. but the second part of what mr. vogt said i think is the point. you can t create conservative outcomes unless the president and the president we like has complete control. just from a legal standpoint, talk a little bit about this idea. let me, before you do that, let me read a little thing from the
george w. bush s administration floated it after 9/11. what donald trump is vowing to do is take that to the next level with the help of reservative billionaires he s essentially running for office on the idea of turning the presidency into a dictatorship. while none of this is surprising, it is incredibly alarming. especially considering that trump remains the republican party s front-runner, which means the 2024 election may determine whether or not the united states of america remains a democracy. joining me now is michael beschloss, msnbc presidential historian, and joshua stanton, president of the defense of dignity center. thank you both for being here. i ll start with you, michael. you covered the presidency for a very long time. this concept they have created of essentially unitary president who cannot be stopped by congress or anyone in the executive branch, what do you make of it? it s ridiculous. there s no such thing. if we brought james madison back, who did much to inve
send donald trump to prison or cause him to be convicted, then if donald trump becomes president, who is going to be first on the enemy s list? remember what president obama said, when we lose true democracy, people get hurt. that s what s going to happen if this happens. i will note as he is praising judge aileen cannon at least for now, before she maybe does something he doesn t like, he s threatening prosecutors, and so far, no one has done anything about that. a blanket threat, you re right. exactly, michael beschloss, joshua stanton, thank you both. up next on the reidout, democrat joe manchin flirts with the idea of a third party bid for president with an appearance at a no labels event. who is backing this group and what is their end game? the reidout continues after this.