MSNBC Columnist: Donald Trump ‘Must Die in Prison’ to ‘Protect’ Democratic Republic

Former President Donald Trump “must die in prison” to “protect the Democratic Republic,” according to MSNBC Columnist Dean Obeidallah, who claimed he is “passionate” about the matter “with every fiber” of his being.

While conversing with Mediaite Reporter Tommy Christopher about the media’s portrayal of the advanced ages of the two primary presidential contenders on his eponymous show Friday, the left-wing commentator and SiriusXM radio host argued that Trump “must die in prison.”

“I don’t care if he was 45 years old,” he said. “You should get life in prison if you attempt a coup, and there should be no chance of parole.” 

“I don’t care who it is,” he added.

"'Donald Trump MUST Die In Jail!' Liberal Host Says Example Must Be Set To Prevent Another Coup." BTW I'm the "liberal host" cited in the article Ƕ https://t.co/yxc6wTQIma via @mediaite

— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) September 9, 2023

According to Obeidallah, that is why Trump “must die in jail.”

“Because either we’re going to protect the Democratic Republic or we’re going to allow people — in this case, Trump — to chip away at our democracy and chip away at what we believe in these institutions,” he stated.

“That’s why I’m so passionate about, like with every fiber of my being, that Donald Trump has to live out his natural days, his last days of natural life, in a prison cell,” he added.

Another reason for his stance, he suggested, is because of the importance of using Trump’s case as a deterrent, warning others that “you can’t do this.” 

“That’s why it so outrages me now when Ron DeSantis was on Newsmax a few days ago saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to look at pardons for the Proud Boys, like Trump has said,’” he claimed.

Calling it “outrageous,” Obeidallah accused the group of having “plotted an attack” on January 6.

“The prosecution laid out the case: they began plotting right after the election when Trump said the election was stolen. They brought their people there. They had 200 people there at ten in the morning, way before Trump’s speech down by the Capitol, because they had plotted how they were going to attack the Capitol,” he said. 

“And they did that to stop the certification, and that’s why they were convicted of seditious conspiracy, just one step below treason,” he added.

He also deemed the notion that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) or Trump will pardon them as borderline “treasonous.” 

“These people attacked our Capitol to prevent the certification of [the] election, so I’m pretty clear where I [stand],” he stated, arguing that Trump “has to end up in a prison cell and live his last days out in that prison cell.”

When asked if he believed Trump would be murdered in prison, Obeidallah said he felt it was unlikely because the former president would be “highly protected.” 

Earlier this week, on 9/11, Obeidallah declared Trump “the Bin Laden of the 1/6 MAGA terrorist attack” and “a greater threat today to our nation than Al Qaeda.”

In July, he asserted that any future pardoning of former President Trump — if convicted on January 6-related charges — would be akin to pardoning terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden for the September 11 attacks.