MSNBC columnist demands Trump 'must die in prison' to protect democracy

MSNBC columnist and progressive radio host Dean Obeidallah said Donald Trump "must die in prison" to set an example for the public, after the former president was charged in four criminal cases.

Obeidallah was discussing the media's coverage of the two leading presidential candidates' advanced ages, with his guest, Mediaite reporter Tommy Christopher, on Friday's "The Dean Obeidallah Show."

Christopher believed the media hadn't shown enough "outrage" at Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for predicting that 80-year-old President Biden was unlikely to survive another full term in office. The reporter proposed that if Biden had warned voters that 77-year-old Trump could "die in prison," conservative media would be furious. 

Obeidallah jumped in to argue the former president should die in a jail cell because of the criminal charges against him. 

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If Biden lobbed the same age-related attacks against Trump, right-wing media would be outraged, Mediaite reporter Tommy Christopher argued. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include alleged falsifying of business records, attempts to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling of classified documents.

The charges against Trump and allies stemming out of the Georgia election case were proof for Obeidallah the former president deserved a life sentence.

"I think Donald Trump must die in prison because I don’t care if he was 45 years old. You should get life in prison if you attempt a coup, and there should be no chance of parole. I don’t care who it is," the radio host insisted.

Obeidallah argued a life in prison sentence would send the message to the public that "you can’t do this."

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Liberal SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah said Donald Trump must die in prison as a lesson to others after facing criminal charges.  ((Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for SiruisXM) (Second photo by James Devaney/GC Images))

"That’s why I think Donald Trump or anyone else who commits a coup, must die in jail, because either we’re going to protect the democratic republic, or we’re going to allow people, in this case, Trump, to chip away at our democracy and chip away at what we believe in these institutions," he argued. "That’s why I’m so passionate about, like with every fiber of my being, that Donald Trump has to live out his natural days, his last days of natural life, in a prison cell."

Obeidallah recalled he had said a version of this previously and reiterated he was not calling for the former president to be murdered, but to die of natural causes while facing a lengthy prison sentence.

The liberal columnist, whose work has also frequently been featured by CNN, has a history of making provocative comments about Trump and his supporters.

Last year he compared Trump supporters to terrorist sympathizers. 

"At this point I LITERALLY view people who still support Donald Trump no different than the despicable, vile people who supported Bin Laden after 9/11," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

President Trump's attorney and Dean Obeidallah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.