Eleven months before the 2016 election, former Governor Christie Whitman sounded the national alarm about Donald Trump, citing him in Political essay as a “pompous fascist” whose “hateful rhetoric and exploitation of uncertainty” recalled Hitler’s rise to power in Germany.
Over the years, her warning has become political dogma—not just for Democrats, but also for traditional Republicans such as Whitman herself and former members of the Trump administration, whose own fears have dominated the news in recent weeks. The Republican Party in which she grew up, Whitman argues, believed in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power. He condemned misogyny and racism. He didn’t base entire presidential campaigns on dark threats, cruelty and crazy reasoning. He did not pledge allegiance to the cult leader.
Here are the reasons why Whitman, 78, left the Republican Party in 2022, teaming up with a former Democrat. Andrew Young to create the Forward Party, which this year has 120 candidates running for state and local office across the country.
She also became an ardent supporter Kamala Harris for Presidentand as the campaign enters its final stretch, it’s time to speak again with the former governor of New Jersey. We spoke on Thursday afternoon.
Question: You were one of the first Republicans to warn about Trump’s threat to democracy. Now almost every day we hear another person from the party repeating your thoughts from nine years ago. What influence do you think he has on voters?
A. Probably not so much. At least not about Trump voters. I think there are a lot of Republicans who don’t feel comfortable switching sides—they settled for the first term, they never voted Democratic, and that remains a barrier for them. It doesn’t matter that our democracy is at stake, and it doesn’t seem to matter that Trump says extraordinary things every day. You would hope that people would listen and start thinking, “We need to go in a different direction.”
Q: Still, this crescendo of anti-Trump sentiment seems to be a compelling closing argument among senior Republicans who have backed your view. What was your reaction to John Kelly’s remarks in Atlantic And New York Times last week approximately Trump’s fascism and the need for loyalty at the level of a Nazi general?
A. Well, if people don’t pay attention to a four-star general who risked his life for the country and lost his son for the country, I don’t know what will get their attention. It does three main figures of the army (Kelly, Jim Mattis, Mark Milley) who served with Donald Trump have seen him up close and are voicing the same warning.
I just wish they all said it sooner. I wish people like Mitt Romney would come out and just say, this guy is not fit for this job. Republicans have always been supporters of the rule of law; we were all for compliance with the Constitution. These were our values. But we seem to have left that behind because of one man who has created a cult around himself.
Question. What about other senior Republicans? Are you surprised that Governor Christie didn’t specify how he plans to vote this cycle?
A. I’m disappointed with this. I mean, come on, he won’t get it. position in the Trump administration. This won’t happen. Either way, I wish he would just say it. This will certainly send a strong message to New Jersey residents.
Question. Other moderate Republicans rationalized his curious remarks about Hitler: Chris Sununu was asked whether Trump’s general remarks in Germany changed his view of Trump, and he responded: “No, we’ve heard a lot of extreme things from Trump. It’s unfortunate, but with a guy like that, it’s kind of baked into the vote.” This would seem to suggest an idea. . . .
Answer: True, fascism is acceptable. This is mind boggling to me. These people should know better. It makes you wonder why anyone would want to live in a country that would actually re-elect this guy. What’s wrong with us? So many people have fought and died for our democracy, and now we are handing it over to a cult leader who is clearly incapable of it.
So there is no satisfaction in what I said so long ago. I wish it had an impact, but it clearly didn’t. And it’s frustrating. Probably only half of the voters know who a fascist is. But they certainly should know who Hitler is, and they certainly should know what Trump means when he says he’s going to do what he wants. When he says, “I need generals who will support me and listen to me,” that should be a wake-up call for anyone.
Remember the famous poem: First they cameGerman clergyman – “First they came for the communist, but I didn’t say anything…” You say I’m not one of them, I’m not an immigrant, I’m not a Jew, I’m not woman. I’m afraid that’s where we’re headed, and that’s one of the most unfortunate aspects of what’s happening. Some of the resistance to Kamala is that there are people who say, “I just can’t vote for a woman—I don’t think she’ll be strong enough.” I don’t know how she can demonstrate how strong she is. She was a strong prosecutor who took on difficult cases. She was strong at every stage of her career.
Q: It sounds like it was easy for you to overlook any political differences you had with her.
A. I met her for the first time last week in Pennsylvania and was very impressed. I mean, I already liked her and it’s time to make a woman president. But I was impressed by how sincere she was, how optimistic she was about the country. I just hope voters see it eventually. This morning I heard someone on NPR say, “I want someone who is optimistic and loves the country, someone who will defend it and uphold the rule of law – and that’s why I’m voting for Donald Trump.” And you will have to ask these people: “Where have you been? What were you listening to?
Question: Is this amnesia? Cult devotion?
A. Probably both. Since Trump entered politics, he has developed a dark and dystopian vision of a country that I don’t recognize. And now he’s telling us exactly what he’s going to do. You know, when Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, everyone dismissed it as nonsense. Guess what, he did everything he promised. Project 2025 contains the same warnings: Trump cannot separate himself from the policies that appear there when it comes to shutting down the government, mass deportations and further restrictions on abortion. J.D. Vance can’t separate himself from writing the foreword to the book by the author of Project 2025. Just try to imagine the kind of people Trump would put in his cabinet.
It’s so dangerous. Think about what Trump did after Helen and Milton – causing fear that if you go to FEMA for help, your land will be taken away from you – it hurt people and undermined their confidence that the federal government could do anything . . So if they get into power – God help us – J.D. Vance is going to systematically overthrow the government. And I ask people this: Do you really want someone with no government experience—only a political agenda—to decide what is safe for you to breathe and what you can put in your water?
Q: You’ve had a lot of time to consider the future of the Republican Party that you and your family helped shape. almost a century. What does her future look like and how will this election determine the direction she takes?
A: If Trump wins, they’ll probably still call it the Republican Party, but it’ll be all about Trump, followed by J.D. Vance and maybe Donald Trump Jr. But it will continue to be a cult. And if they lose this election, I think they will become the third party.
Question: So its members will leave, like you, and it is destined to become a minority party?
A. I think so if he loses. When you look at our party Forward Party The largest group of registrants are unaffiliated, with Republicans at 25% and Democrats at 24%. And I believe that we are the only ones who can change the situation. Until then, I hope that in this election cycle, people are just afraid to say they are for Kamala Harris, but when they pull the lever, they will do what I think is right.
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