A lot of Republicans are saying a lot of authoritarian things to defend their authoritarian leader. Please don't mistake their words for stupidity. Yes, the words are stupid. But they come from the authoritarian playbook, and that's what matters.
A lot of people underestimated Trump in 2016, and still are, because he's such an idiot. But you don't need to be smart to be authoritarian. And as his defenders in the GOP go full-blown authoritarian, we're still making that mistake.
An authoritarian's words can sound idiotic to those outside the cult, because they defy reality so blatantly. But that's exactly what makes them dangerous. We can't afford to treat authoritarian rhetoric as mere stupidity.
