Why do citizens support democratic backsliding? And how do elites’ divergent understandings of democracy in nascent democracies influence the ability to prevent democratic backsliding and oppose it? Tunisia has been upheld as the exception in the Arab World for its successful democratization. However, since the declaration of the state of exception, it has been witnessing deliberate acts of democratic subversion. Polls show an overwhelming support for the president despite his acts of democratic subversion. Ethnographic evidence in the rural community of “Vaga” where the “yes” vote for the referendum was 80% shows that emotional voting, illiberal values, and the paradox of nostalgia and fear can explain the support for Kais Said and his executive aggrandizement. Yet, the support is conditional and contested. Tunisians have not given up on key democratic practices. Also, elites’ divergent understandings of democracy contribute to complacency with executive aggrandizement and fragmentation of the oppositions.