Former Attorney Generalhas expressed his concerns over what a second term by the former president might look like.
Barr, who served under Trump from 2019 to 2020, has suggested his former boss has potential for a second presidency, but his run could be even more tumultuous than the first if he’s surrounded by yes men.
The former AG Barr has emphasized the need for people around Trump to offer dissent and guide him in a more constructive direction.
He believes Trump’s own advisors could influence his decisions knowing there would be few consequences to his actions during his final presidency.
Barr suggested during an interview on Friday that Trump’s ‘chaotic’ governing style would pose challenges.
Barr says he believes there would likely be a lack of people surrounding Trump to provide pushback and steer him in a more constructive direction. He is pictured in Iowa last week
‘I’m worried his style of governance, his continuing to pander to anger and frustration versus a constructive approach to solving our problem is going to be chaotic and not going to accomplish very much,’ Barr told’He’ll be a lame duck president.’
Unlike his first term, Barr said that there might not be an administration to provide any system of checks and balances that might keep Trump restrained, noting how he ‘needs people around him who will push back and help keep him on the straight and narrow.
‘Once he wins a second term, I don’t know you know what considerations can be used to push back against bad ideas,’ Barr said.
‘I think for people going into that administration. I think they have to be ready to oppose the abuse of government power.’
Barr, who does not support Trump’s run for the 2024.
GOP nomination, raised concerns about the potential composition of Trump’s cabinet in a second term, recalling the high turnover and number of disagreements that characterized his first term.
‘During his first term, the main way that could be was by pointing out to him how this would hurt his prospects for a second term. Once he wins a second term I don’t know what considerations can be used to push back bad ideas,’ Barr explained.
While acknowledging that Trump could easily fill a cabinet, Barr questioned the quality of individuals he might choose and the lack of guardrails that would exist in a presidency in which Trump feels as though he has nothing to lose.
Barr left the administration after disagreeing with Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the.
He quit on December 23, 2020 – in part because he and Trump disagreed about the election results.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the then-president was simply exercising his right to freedom of speech when he questioned the results, but Barr said the argument was not persuasive.
Since leaving office, he has become a vocal critic of the former president, particularly focusing on Trump’s actions leading up to the
attack on the U.S.
.
‘One of the reasons I’m against Trump as the [Republican National Committee] nominee is I don’t think he’s going to move the country forward,’ Barr said.
Previously Barr said that Trump brought all the problems on himself – which was one of the reasons why he did not support his 2024 bid.
The veteran Justice Department official has declined to say who he backs, insisting he will ‘pick my poison’ when the time comes.
Despite Barr’s own reservations, polls suggest Trump is maintaining his position as the frontrunner to be the Republican candidate.
Latest polls suggest Republican voters would still put Trump in first place, with his lead widening nationwide against the rest of the field by 7 points since November and a massive 26 points since February.
With 69 percent support, Trump is by far and away the frontrunner with second placed Ron DeSantis earning just 12 percent – a whopping 57 points behind the ex-president and one-time ally.
Nikki Haley comes in at third place with 9 percent, meaning both her and DeSantis lost 1 percent since November.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy comes in fourth with 5 percent – losing 2 percent since the last poll in November – and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is in fifth with just 2 percent.
