It is easy to criticize all of those Republicans who are enthusiastically endorsing and aiding the lawlessness, corruption, and authoritarian ambitions of Donald Trump.

Many of them, like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, or Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), used to be highly critical of the president but have since realized that it is better for them personally to bend the knee and kiss the ring.

And therefore, no matter what Trump does, whether it’s attempting a coup, committing crimes, violating the Constitution, ordering extrajudicial killings, or putting in place cruel and nonsensical policies, they will defend him vocally and passionately.

It’s easy to feel disdain for these bootlickers.

However, there is also another type of Republican, one that people don’t talk about as much as much.

It’s the GOP lawmakers in Congress and in state legislatures who are not on board with the president’s policies (or his behavior) but are too afraid to speak out or do anything about it.

It would be one thing if they were simply worried about their own reelections, which Trump could torpedo by endorsing a primary challenger.

However, every now and then, Republicans speak out about this and explain that they are not worried about their jobs; they are fearing for their lives.

And it doesn’t matter how prominent they are or how strongly they support the president’s agenda.

For example, when he served in the Senate, former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R-UT) spent $5,000 per day on private security for his family because he was a critic of Trump and voted to convict the president in both of his impeachment trials.

Romney also noted that many Republicans felt the way he did but were too concerned about their own safety and that of their loved ones to speak out.

And on Sunday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) detailed what happened when she, one of Trump’s staunchest and most loyal supporters, stepped out of line, which in her case meant signing a discharge petition to force his administration to release the Epstein files.

In an interview on 60 Minutes, Greene said she was the target of a pipe bomb threat and that her son received death threats that used Trump’s language branding her a traitor.

Then, when she brought up the issue with the president, his response “wasn’t very nice,” according to the lawmaker, who announced that she is leaving Congress next month.

And in Indiana, we know of a dozen Republicans in the state Senate who have received threats or were “swatted” to intimidate them into supporting a redistricting bill that would give the GOP a couple more seats in the House of Representatives.

When people talk about Trump running the government like a gangster, this is what they mean.

In her interview, Greene described this culture of intimidation.

“I think [her GOP colleagues] are terrified to step outta line and get a nasty Truth Social post on them,” she said.

One can only hope that, with Greene and others speaking out more about this, the American people will realize that their president acts like a two-bit gangster.

This is especially true because, as Trump and his policies are getting more unpopular (and more extreme), more Republicans may feel increasingly compelled to oppose his agenda.

And if the president then keeps up his rhetoric, somebody is going to get hurt.