Former Democratic Party leader Howard Dean ripped Republicans as racists, whack jobs and conspiracy theorists who embrace autocracy in the latest episode of The Daily Beast podcast “The New Abnormal.”
Dean, the former longtime Vermont governor who chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, said the GOP mutated into something “unrecognizable” during Donald Trump’s presidency.
“I hate to call Republicans right-wing fascists because often they supported me, but this is unrecognizable,” Dean said. “They believe in autocracy, not democracy. They are racist. It’s just shocking what’s happened to the Republican Party.”
“You have a Republican Party, which emotionally, essentially are neo-fascist,” he continued. “They fundamentally do not believe that another legitimate point of view exists other than theirs.”
“These people are crazy,” Dean added. “They’re conspiracy theorists, they’re whack jobs. They’re embedding their own reality. I mean, if they ever really run the country, it’s going to be a disaster for us. … This is why autocrats don’t run good economies, because they start believing in their own B.S.”
Dean also bemoaned the decent Republicans who lacked the courage to stand up to Trump.
“You can tell I’m not running for anything again,” cracked Dean, a presidential contender in 2004, confirming he’s done seeking public office.