Conservative political commentator Glenn Beck said Sunday that the Republican Party attempting to deny Donald Trump its nomination could lead the country into “civil war.”
Pointing to Republicans who say “a vote against Donald Trump is a vote for Hillary Clinton,” Beck accused them of “playing games.”
“I’m not going to vote for evil,” Beck said. “I don’t care if it’s lesser than the other evil. I’m not going to vote for it.”
Host George Stephanopoulos asked if that meant he is looking for a third-party option.
“Yes, but not the options of the party playing politics to break us apart at the convention,” Beck replied. “That leads to civil war on the floor and quite honestly it could lead to civil war in the country.”
Beck, who has endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that no matter the circumstances, he will not vote for Trump, whom he compared to Adolf Hitler.
“We should look at Adolf Hitler in 1929. He was a kind of a funny kind of character that said the things that people were thinking,” Beck said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “Where Donald Trump takes it I have absolutely no idea, but Donald Trump is a dangerous man with the things that he has been saying.”
“You cannot lie to people, play with their feelings. People actually believe in something, and that’s what the GOP has forgotten,” Beck added. “They believe in themselves. They believe in their own power. … You cannot continue to disenfranchise people and play with their emotions.”
One day earlier, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Beck told conservatives that they aren’t owned by the Republican Party.
“Shame on all of us for asking for loyalty oaths. Loyalty oaths should never be made to parties. That is a step toward fascism,” Beck said.
The Secret Service has said that it will investigate a joke Beck made on the air Friday in which he threatened to stab a co-host during a discussion of Trump. Some listeners believed Beck had threatened Trump, drawing the Secret Service’s scrutiny.
