Rep. Mark Sanford Mark SanfordOn The Money: Business world braces for blue sweep | Federal Reserve chief to outline plans for inflation, economy | Meadows 'not optimistic' about stalemate on coronavirus deal Trump critic Sanford forms anti-debt advocacy group Republicans officially renominate Trump for president MORE (R-S.C.), who has battled with President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE, writes in a new Facebook post that the U.S. runs the risk of embracing an authoritarian figure in the near future.

The outgoing Republican lawmaker, who lost his House seat earlier this year to a Trump-backed opponent only to see South Carolina's 1st congressional district go blue for the first time in decades, warned Wednesday that "forces at play" could lead to the rise of an authoritarian leader like Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I want to be clear and explicit that I am not likening Trump to Hitler, but the forces at play could lead to a future Hitler-like character if we don’t watch out,” Sanford wrote.

"It must be remembered that another thing that Benjamin Franklin said was that he who trades his freedom for security, deserves neither. Indeed, how true," Sanford added.

The exiting congressman made headlines earlier this year for his battles with Trump, who mocked him upon his primary loss to State Rep. Katie Arrington (R) in June.

Arrington's win came following a surprise 11th-hour endorsement from Trump, who for the most part stayed out of inter-party contests during the 2018 cycle.

"Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!" Trump tweeted just before Sanford's primary election.

The congressman fired back at Trump in November, telling CNN that he hoped the president would be a "temporary blip" on America's radar.

“This is a temporary blip on the radar screen … I hope so, if not we’re in real trouble. The roots of the Republican Party run much deeper. A lot of people work for years, generations even, in the traditional components of conservatism, and we got to go back to our roots going forward," Sanford said in November.

"If not, we’re going to find ourselves in something of a no man’s land in political ground and in policy ground,” he added.