U.S. Rep. McGovern says he's concerned about future of democracy if Trump wins reelection

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said he’s worried about the future of democracy if former President Donald Trump wins reelection in November.

"If he wins, this could very well be our last election,” McGovern told WBUR's Radio Boston Tuesday during a conversation about how Congress is preparing for the upcoming presidential election.

The Democratic congressman, who represents Massachusetts' 2nd District, said he thinks House Republicans appear poised to contest the election if it doesn’t result in a Trump win. Earlier this month, Trump also said he would only accept the election outcome if “everything’s honest,” prompting fresh criticism that he and his campaign are attempting to undermine confidence in the U.S. elections.

McGovern expressed frustration with colleagues he says disparage Trump behind closed doors but defend or support the 77-year-old in public.

“The people who have disappointed me the most are Republicans who I know are more moderate, who come up to me and tell me about how awful the situation is with Trump, how terrible he is and how dangerous he is and then publicly go out and defend him,” he said. “This is a time for people to stand up for their principles.”

McGovern caused a stir last week after he spoke on the House floor about the four criminal indictments Trump faces and called out fellow representatives for missing votes to attend the trials. Rep. Jerry L. Carl (R-Ala.) then told members to not make attacks directed at “presumed nominees for the office of the president.” After deliberations, his House colleagues struck his comments from the record.

McGovern told WBUR's Tiziana Dearing he was trying to point out what he views as a double-standard, in which he is reprimanded for remarks he argued were not opinion-based, while "Republican members of Congress can come on the floor and refer to the Trump trial as a sham, say that the judge is corrupt and the jury is rigged and there's no public admonishment."

McGovern also spoke about the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, including recent Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million Palestinians had taken shelter after Israel designated the area a humanitarian safe zone in the war. According to NPR, the United Nations said this week that over 800,000 people have fled Rafah since Israel began moving its military operations into the city.