Donald Trump Supporters Want A ‘Second Civil War,’ Republican Operative Says

Republican operative and Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt appeared on MSNBC on Thursday and claimed that Donald Trump supporters want to see the United States thrust into another civil war, Breitbart reported.

“It’s a ideology now, and it’s taken root,” he said of the GOP movement. “And so it’s important to understand what it is so we can do something about it. And what it is is an illiberal, autocratic ideology that about 30 percent of the country, roughly, are enamored with. They are full-in 100 percent committed to the cult of personality that is at the core of Trumpism. A cult of personality built around Donald Trump.”

Schmidt pointed to the Republican National Convention and claimed the president and his allies co-opted symbols of America into “symbols of authority” and “partisan totems” for Trump’s “tribe.” The Republican operative said this “seizure” is intended to establish dominance over the rest of the United States.

“No mistake that the Hawaiian shirt-clad Civil-War fetishists want to see a second Civil War in this country. They are all supporting Trump, and Trump has encouraged all of them.”

According to The Independent, far-right voters have warned that a civil war could break out if Trump doesn’t win re-election in November. These voters, the publication said, are often found in rural areas of America and think the president is taking back U.S. culture from the outsiders they believe are attempting to take over the country.

Mark Villalta is one such voter and told The Independent he has been stockpiling firearms in preparation for the aftermath of a potential Trump loss. Although he said he was opposed to violence, he suggested that such a situation would leave no other option.

Trump’s re-election campaign is strategically appealing to voters like Villalta, The Guardian reported. Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele said that the GOP leader’s previous attacks on NASCAR for their decision to bar the Confederate flag were intended to speak to the white Americans that messaging resonates with the most. According to the publication, the former television personality is “repurposing” the civil war as a culture war against the enemies of the United States, which the president often paints as Marxists, anarchists, and the far-left.

As The Inquisitr reported, Trump previously claimed that his impeachment would spark a second civil war. Although the U.S. leader was impeached but ultimately acquitted by the Senate, his comments drew criticism from some who believed he was inciting violence.

Conservative political veterans and extremist experts have also warned of the possible chaos that could grip America if Trump loses re-election.