NY Mag's Jonathan Chait doubles down on comparing DeSantis to Trump: 'Authoritarian to the bone'

New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait further attacked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as "authoritarian" on Monday, saying the Republican politician "would kill democracy slowly and methodically" unlike former President Trump creating an "immediate constitutional crisis."

"As Trump eventually fades from the scene — perhaps overtaken by Ron DeSantis — the democracy question, far from disappearing, might instead sharpen," Chait wrote in the Intelligencer.

Chait also implied that a DeSantis presidency could be as "dangerous" as re-electing President Donald Trump.

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"Whether a President DeSantis would be more or less dangerous than Trump is not a question I can answer with any confidence. Trump poses a greater danger of triggering an immediate constitutional crisis, while DeSantis is more likely to methodically strangle democracy through a series of illiberal Orbanist steps like he has modeled in Florida," Chait wrote. 

He closed sardonically, "I suppose the threat of a quick death is more dire than the threat of a slow one, but I have little confidence in projecting out these comparative dangers. The only meaningful conclusion I can make about the choice of Trump versus DeSantis is ‘neither.’"

Last Wednesday, Chait made a similar declaration on Twitter, writing that "DeSantis is a deeply authoritarian figure who is consolidating the fringe right-wing groups Trump brought into the party," along with a link to a February piece he wrote on the topic. 

He also added, "The Trump-skeptical conservatives who love DeSantis are distrustful of Trump's incompetence, not his authoritarianism. They prefer a more competent authoritarian, which DeSantis is."

Chait likewise promoted his opinion and new article on his Twitter account Monday.

"Yes, Ron DeSantis is authoritarian to the bone, and no, liberals should not welcome him," Chait tweeted.

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Much like his past claim that DeSantis is authoritarian, Chait’s latest article was ridiculed by Twitter users.

"All this piece arguing that Ron DeSantis would kill our democracy lacks is a shred of evidence that Ron DeSantis would kill our democracy," National Review editor Rich Lowry tweeted.

Washington Examiner Executive Editor Seth Mandel wrote, "lmao this is just mad libs, auto-generated mumblecore."

Conservative author Erielle Davidson wrote, "They write pieces like this—nebulous, empty, theatrical accusations—instead of reporting on the threat Hunter poses to US national security. And [for what it's worth], NY Mag did a big profile on Hunter a few years ago. We probably won’t be seeing a follow-up. But enjoy this silly piece on [DeSantis]."

"The Authoritarian who refused to use state executive power to shut down businesses and impose mask mandates on school kids. Just great stuff here," The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller joked.

"If you thought Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were a greater threat to the republic than Donald Trump in February 2016, maybe your judgment on this matter isn't very good," National Review correspondent John McCormack tweeted along with a screenshot of Chait’s 2016 article on "Why liberals should support a Trump Republican nomination," which argued "a Trump presidency would probably wind up doing less harm to the country then a Marco Rubio or a Cruz presidency."

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One Twitter user who agreed with Chait’s article was Washington Post columnist Max Boot who also claimed Wednesday that DeSantis is a "bigger threat to the Republic" than Trump. Boot previously said in 2020 that Trump posed the biggest threat to democracy since the Nazis in the 1930s.

Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.