A former senior Homeland Security official in the Trump administration said Wednesday that the former president has “authoritarian tendencies” and “does not operate by the rule of law” — echoing a denunciation by his former chief of staff and other senior figures.
Elizabeth Neumann, who served as deputy chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security and assistant secretary for threat prevention and security policy, said she agreed with former Marine Gen. John Kelly’s explosive assessment that Donald Trump is not fit for the office.
“Does he have authoritarian tendencies? Yes,” Neumann, who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, said in a brief interview with POLITICO. “Is he kind of leaning towards that ultra-nationalism component? Absolutely. That is kind of his brand, right? He’s made nationalism the new definition of the Republican Party.”