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Notes -
It seems like an isolated demand for criticism. The left spent 4 full years refusing to talk about Biden having dementia, getting lost during conferences, etc. were they afraid of authoritarian Biden? Or were they circling the wagons in an attempt to maintain power and credibility?
I think this is why the conservatives aren’t keen to criticize Trump. Not because they’re afraid of him, but because the current moment of American politics is basically warfare. They know that the left will take anything negative said about Trump or MAGA and use it to attempt to drive wedges and discredit Trump. Giving the enemy a way to build a narrative against them is stupidity. If they disapprove of him doing something that the left considers “authoritarian”, that will absolutely be used. That’s what happened with Liz Chaney. She said that what Trump did on 1/6 was a coup attempt, and her participation fed that narrative and was used to justify the hearings that later to provide backing for the law fare. If dissent is necessary to prove Trump isn’t an authoritarian, but any dissent proves Trump is an authoritarian, there’s no point.
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