America should worry about ‘scum’ attracted to Trump’s authoritarianism

I read Paul Krugman’s column “Why corruption matters” (Nov. 29), and noted his use of the words “authoritarian governments” — which described too many governments back in the 1930s, leading up to World War II. These were often governments put in place by fearful people, willing to give up liberty for what they thought would be security — as seems to be the case with the recent election.

And while many of the people who voted for Trump are obviously good-hearted, well-meaning folk, I worry about the scum that is also attracted to this authoritarianism he has promoted, like the airplane passenger screaming invective at anyone who voted for Hillary Clinton, or the woman cursing African-Americans in a Chicago store or the recent increase in hate crimes. There is a real danger in how the xenophobic racists in our country will act should Trump become president.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 8:06 PM with the headline "America should worry about ‘scum’ attracted to Trump’s authoritarianism."