On Monday, Donald Trump threatened to deprive five former intelligence agents who’ve been critical of the President of their security clearances including John O. Brennan, James Comey and James R. Clapper Jr.

 

On MSNBC Monday, host Nicolle Wallace asked Steve Schmidt, a Republican strategist who worked for George W. Bush, his thoughts on the President’s threat.

 

“This is a very dangerous day for American democracy. This is the move of an autocrat, not an American president,” Schmidt declared.

 

“Trump began politicizing the intelligence services from hour one,” Schmidt pointed out, reminding viewers of the President’s disrespectful address to the CIA after he entered office. “This is just a culmination of his increasingly erratic behavior.”

 

Schmidt also ripped Trump for seeming to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin more than US intelligence agencies.

 

“This President’s continuing abuse of power, his authoritarian instinct in full use here. And it is alarming, to say the least,” Schmidt concluded.