In a series of spectacular interviews, supporters of former President Donald Trump told CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan that the U. S. is” hardly a republic” and predicted a” legal battle” if Trump loses.
O’Sullivan has a background in covering the edges of the traditional and pro-Trump movement, and he often finds himself on the receiving finish of some beautiful quotes.
On Thursday evening’s edition , of CNN’s , Anderson Cooper 360, O’Sullivan rolled out his latest festival of neck- dropping MAGA audio bites — a bunch of Trump supporters who were happy to tell him we’re never a politics— but had a tough time explaining the difference:
Smith: President Biden is billing his election campaign as a struggle to protect democracy. Now, how that idea is going down with Trump supporters, as well as one known writer who’s made describing how governments fail her niche. More from CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan.
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DONIE O’SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice over ): What happens if Trump loses?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do n’t see him losing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do n’t think he lost the last election, to be honest.
O’SULLIVAN: Do you think he’s going to succeed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without a doubt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No fear.
O’SULLIVAN: What if he does n’t this time? What happens to the land?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We’re done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We’re in difficulty. We’re in big trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We’re done. If Biden talks about democracy, you know, saving democracy, they’re the ones that are killing democracy.
O’SULLIVAN: Naturally, there’s a lot of accusations of Trump that he is bad for democracy, that he’s awful for American politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May I suggest something? We are a nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’re a state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not a republic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’re a member of the nation. We’re certainly a republic. ( END VIDEO CLIP )
O’SULLIVAN (voice over ): Over the past few months, we’ve been hearing that America is n’t really a democracy.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America’s hardly a republic as a nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s never a republic. Okay? Democracy is really not as effective as you believe it to be.
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O’SULLIVAN (voice over ): But for decades, America has celebrated its politics.
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RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Republic is worth dying for.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Republic remains the definition of political legality.
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O’SULLIVAN (voice over ): However, some Democrats and pro-Trump media are promoting the notion that America is not a democracy.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States of America is certainly a republic. We are a democratic republic.
JOHNSON: The United States of America is not a republic. You do n’t want to be in a democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not a republic. We are a nation.
O’SULLIVAN ( on camera ): Is America a democracy?
ANNE APPLEBAUM, AUTHOR,” AUTOCRACY, INC”. : America is a republic. It was founded as a republic.
O’SULLIVAN: I’ve heard a lot of crime principles. On the way, I hear a lot of things. But to speak American, people who would describe themselves as patriots, say that America is certainly a democracy, that stopped me in my tracks.
APPLEBAUM: You are hearing people claim that America is certainly a democracy because Trump’s supporters have been spreading that myth.
O’SULLIVAN: Is America a politics? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I do n’t – I think we’re a republic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also, certainly right now. But we’re – certainly, we’re a nation.
O’SULLIVAN: What’s the change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like republic– I think this is true, that it’s state control. I do n’t see freedom in democracy. I see liberty in the state.
APPLEBAUM: Actually, the term politics and the word state have often been used colloquially. There is n’t much of a difference between them.
O’SULLIVAN: So much of the instructions and censure about Trump is that he is a danger to politics, that he is pro- Democrat.
APPLEBAUM: Positively. If they can convince people that we do n’t have a democracy, then it’s okay that Trump is attacking democracy, because it does n’t really matter.
O’SULLIVAN: But why – of, why has politics become a bad word?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it’s being used in a way to alter the taste of our nation, which is a state.
APPLEBAUM: These words were used in different ways in the 18th century and it’s true the founders did n’t want direct democracy, by which they meant people gathering on the town square, they wanted representative democracy.
However, I believe the reason for this talk about speech is that a minority-focused party in the Republican Party needs an justification for why that’s acceptable. And so they have begun to state, we’re not a republic, we’re a nation. We want Donald Trump to be able to perform whatever he wants, and that’s not entirely clear what that means, but I believe it does.
O’SULLIVAN: Some folks I’ve been speaking to at Trump events just…
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O’SULLIVAN: … have been saying, America is certainly a democracy, it’s a nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We’ve often been a republic, first of all,
O’SULLIVAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, we have – we used to have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, we used to have that also, then they’re picking on the Christians and the Hebrew people. I mean, how much more can we get?
O’SULLIVAN: Are you concerned if Trump loses …
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O’SULLIVAN: … that there will be another January 6th?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. A legal conflict is inevitable, in my opinion. That’s what I think may arise.
