Tuesday on ABC’s “The View,” 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) accused President Donald Trump of taking America down “the road to fascism and tyranny.”

When asked about Trump’s criticisms of “The Squad,” O’Rourke said, “I think it’s not just Democrats who are outraged. It’s Americans, especially Americans of good conscience because this is not an anomaly. A president who described Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals, who said that the Klan were very fine people, who sought to ban all Muslims, all people of one religion from this country, called the press the enemy of the people, this is the road to fascism and tyranny.”

He continued, “243 years into this experiment that we could choose our leaders and the direction of this country has never been to imperiled or undermined as it is now. This is our defining moment of truth. I call upon Republicans and Independents and Democrats alike to stand up and to be counted for this country, not against Donald Trump necessarily but for the best traditions of this country and for a better future of this country. We’re going to reject that racism and that bigotry and that smallness and be defined by our ambitions.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN