Jon Stewart delivered a fiery warning about Donald Trump, accusing the former president of openly embracing authoritarian rhetoric and urging Americans to take it seriously.

Speaking on The Daily Show, Stewart said Trump’s defenders should stop trying to frame his actions as normal politics.

“You don’t have to bend over backwards trying to make Trump’s authoritarian power grabs seem like the rule of law,” Stewart said. “He does not give a f— anymore. He’s saying it straight up.”

Stewart argued Trump is openly signaling that he wants to punish political opponents and use the power of government against them, telling viewers the country faces a choice: accept it, or “fight like hell for this constitutional republic.”