As we approach the 6 month mark of Donald Trump’s Presidency, many of us are incensed and frightened to see such a rapid assault on U.S. institutions, especially how fragile democracy itself now seems. Donald Trump is an unstable, ignorant, and narcissistic sociopath who bashes through the civility and respectability of social and political decorum. Trump is not only undermining our society and democracy, he is also enabling the GOP to accomplish what they and their billionaire donors have long set out to do – to replace U.S. democracy with an authoritarian government. Despite his agitation with how the media are covering him, and his psychological limitations, he has been effective in undermining important government programs and agencies, considered essential for the for the effective functioning of our country.
By and large, Washington pundits are still in agreement with political leaders as they speak about the safeguards that will withstand all Trump’s assaults. But the primary mechanism of those safeguards is that the three separate branches of government have enough power to assure that no tyrant can easily overcome the entire structure of government. Now that the Republicans hold the Supreme Court, Senate and House of Representatives, and the Presidency that mechanism is severely hampered, if not obliterated. Some political observers have reacted in astonishment and disappointment to the refusal of Republican leaders to defend and support institutions such as the courts and media. Despite Trump’s Banana-Republic leadership behavior; abandonment of our democratic allies around the world; and what maybe permanent damage to the U.S., these Republican leaders refuse to act. Some say that while many Republican leaders are offended by Trump’s boorish, un-presidential, and even un-American behavior, they need to stick with him as long as the base of Republican voters support him. Although some Republican leaders have pushed back against Trump’s humiliatingly public attacks on his Attorney General, Jefferson Sessions, and his apparent intention to fire Sessions and Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, Republican resistance is neither widespread not geared toward specific measures to stop Trump.
But, questions about why Republican leaders do not employ every measure they have to oppose Trump miss the point – there is no reason to question whether Donald Trump is a fascist or an authoritarian (It is probably more accurate to say fascist, rather than authoritarian, but the word fascist seems incendiary to Americans.) What is clear is that beginning with Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” the Republican Party has grown into a full-fledged an authoritarian party. Authoritarians fear outsiders and seek systems with strong leaders, and express unquestioning loyalty to those leaders. Authoritarians operate with little respect for “their people,” but still profess beliefs in nationalism, racism, and ethnic intolerance.
They do not want one-man-one vote; they do not want all children to have the opportunity to get a good education. They do not believe that healthcare is a right. They do not believe that a free press is an important component of the American system. They believe that the very wealthy are entitled to wealth and power because they are wealthy; they must be the deserving members of society. Those who have not achieved wealth must be less deserving and their misfortunes are their own problems, and their votes are not ones that should be counted. Measures of authoritarian preference (independent of political questions) are used to sample Americans over time. The Washington Post reported such a study comparing authoritarian views between Republicans and Democrats over the last several decades. While authoritarian preference was essentially equal among Republicans and Democrats in the early 1990s, Republicans have increased their authoritarianism and Democrats have decreased theirs. (The definitive work on Republican authoritarianism is John Dean’s Conservatives without Conscience.)
By and large, Washington pundits are still in agreement with political leaders as they speak about the safeguards that will withstand all Trump’s assaults. But the primary mechanism of those safeguards is that the three separate branches of government have enough power to assure that no tyrant can easily overcome the entire structure of government. Now that the Republicans hold the Supreme Court, Senate and House of Representatives, and the Presidency that mechanism is severely hampered, if not obliterated. Some political observers have reacted in astonishment and disappointment to the refusal of Republican leaders to defend and support institutions such as the courts and media. Despite Trump’s Banana-Republic leadership behavior; abandonment of our democratic allies around the world; and what maybe permanent damage to the U.S., these Republican leaders refuse to act. Some say that while many Republican leaders are offended by Trump’s boorish, un-presidential, and even un-American behavior, they need to stick with him as long as the base of Republican voters support him. Although some Republican leaders have pushed back against Trump’s humiliatingly public attacks on his Attorney General, Jefferson Sessions, and his apparent intention to fire Sessions and Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, Republican resistance is neither widespread not geared toward specific measures to stop Trump.
But, questions about why Republican leaders do not employ every measure they have to oppose Trump miss the point – there is no reason to question whether Donald Trump is a fascist or an authoritarian (It is probably more accurate to say fascist, rather than authoritarian, but the word fascist seems incendiary to Americans.) What is clear is that beginning with Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” the Republican Party has grown into a full-fledged an authoritarian party. Authoritarians fear outsiders and seek systems with strong leaders, and express unquestioning loyalty to those leaders. Authoritarians operate with little respect for “their people,” but still profess beliefs in nationalism, racism, and ethnic intolerance.
They do not want one-man-one vote; they do not want all children to have the opportunity to get a good education. They do not believe that healthcare is a right. They do not believe that a free press is an important component of the American system. They believe that the very wealthy are entitled to wealth and power because they are wealthy; they must be the deserving members of society. Those who have not achieved wealth must be less deserving and their misfortunes are their own problems, and their votes are not ones that should be counted. Measures of authoritarian preference (independent of political questions) are used to sample Americans over time. The Washington Post reported such a study comparing authoritarian views between Republicans and Democrats over the last several decades. While authoritarian preference was essentially equal among Republicans and Democrats in the early 1990s, Republicans have increased their authoritarianism and Democrats have decreased theirs. (The definitive work on Republican authoritarianism is John Dean’s Conservatives without Conscience.)
The current, protracted, Republican fight to destroy the Affordable Care Act (rather than to fix it) does more than reveal a determination to uphold campaign promises. As the American voter has shifted in his views about the ACA, an honest leader could explain that he was intent on bringing constituents the best care options, which would mean changing the ACA to be more beneficial. Instead, against the views of Americans, Republican leaders are callously comfortable with knocking millions off of health insurance, or allowing them choices that will provide them with junk insurance or unaffordable insurance. While some hedge when questioned, almost no Congressional Republicans are willing to say that they believe that healthcare is a right. They grant that each person is “allowed” to purchase coverage, but the government should not be involved in helping the poor or elderly to get the coverage. Others like Marco Rubio or Mo Brooks say straight out that they don’t want money from the 1% going to people who need it. That there will be suffering and unnecessary deaths, does not sway their commitment to the principle that “the people” (the poor) should not be rescued at the cost of the super wealthy.
There is ample evidence of the extent to which the GOP has become authoritarian. Of the 52 Republican Senators who had the opportunity to prevent the 22 million people from losing their health insurance, only 3 voted to do so. Since March, Mark Follman of Mother Jones has been chronicling some of the growing signs of how authoritarian this Trump administration (with GOP support) is. They include “a bizarrely fawning cabinet meeting,” “attacks on the press,” and “firing FBI Director Comey for not pledging loyalty.” (See Appendix A for a summary of many of the authoritarian “red flags.”)
There is ample evidence of the extent to which the GOP has become authoritarian. Of the 52 Republican Senators who had the opportunity to prevent the 22 million people from losing their health insurance, only 3 voted to do so. Since March, Mark Follman of Mother Jones has been chronicling some of the growing signs of how authoritarian this Trump administration (with GOP support) is. They include “a bizarrely fawning cabinet meeting,” “attacks on the press,” and “firing FBI Director Comey for not pledging loyalty.” (See Appendix A for a summary of many of the authoritarian “red flags.”)
Appendix A
Summary of Authoritarian Red Flags – adapted from Mother Jones
Week 27
July 22 – 28
Attacking the Attorney General, the acting FBI director; and the Special Counsel
Politicizing healthcare via the US Energy Department
Relegating the free press to sewer
“Complete power to pardon”
Calls for the prosecution of his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton
Turns the Boy Scout Jamboree, into a partisan rally
Week 26
July 15 - 21
Undermining the special counsel’s Russia investigation
Sabotaging healthcare
More voter conspiracy theory
Attacks on top US Law Enforcement Leader
More “fake news” invective and press blackouts
Undermines the Congressional Budget Office
US Department of the Interior top climate official reassigned to an accounting job
Threatens Senator Heller that if he doesn’t vote for “Trumpcare”
Week 25
July 8 – 14
A phony Loretta Lynch conspiracy
Trump Dynasty at the G20 (Ivanka taking on role of POTUS when he stepped away)
Trump vows to fight fake news with authoritarian Polish President, Andrzej Duda
Week 24
July 1 – 7
The doctored wrestling video and a sustained assault on CNN
Mocking reporters with Putin
Trump suggests that states that are not complying with submitting voter rolls are a conspiracy
Week 23
June 24 –30
Trump’s misogyny returns (as he tweets insulting remarks about Mika Brzezinski)
Demands voter data ( under direction of Chris Kobach of Trump’s appointed Presidential Commission on Voter Integrity)
Week 22
June 17 - 23
Trump’s “tapes” bluff revealed
Press briefing blackouts
Week 21
June 10 - 16
Trump’s growing list of personal targets (including Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller)
A bizarrely fawning cabinet meeting
Week 20
June 3 – 9
Attacks on the Ex-FBI Director (James Comey) and the London Mayor (Sadiq Khan after terrorist attack on the London Bridge)
Week 19
May 27 – June 2
The CBO’s healthcare “conspiracy”
More attacks on press (following reports of increased FBI scrutiny on Jared Kushner)
Week 18
May 20 – 26
Praise for murderous dictators and iron-fisted regimes (eg. Praise for Phillipines President Rodrigo Duterte for work on drug problem, when it appears that thousands were murdered in this program)
In Saudi Arabia, US press forbidden while foreign press were welcomed
Week 17
May 13 - 19
Silence on Erdogan’s violent thugs in DC (outside the Turkish Embassy)
Pressure to jail reporters (reports that he had pressured Comey to imprison reporters who published classified information.)
Week 16
May 6 – 12
The firing of FBI Director Comey
Multiple attacks on the media
Week 15
April 29 – May 5
Downgrading human rights (Dropped the White House position)
Embracing autocrats (Putin, Kim Jung Un, Xi Jinping, Fata el-Sisi,Marine LePen)
Pushing “fake news” ad (criticized CNN for not running an ad claiming that mainstream reporters wrote “fake news”
Week 14
April 22 – 28
Attacking US Courts (for blocking his defunding of sanctuary cities)
Promoting Trump’s Private Club ( by State Department and two US Embassies)
Week 13
April 15 – 21
Threats against Sanctuary Cities (Sessions threatens to hold funds)
Secret White House Waivers (To permit certain staffers from following ethics rules)
Week 12
April 8 - 14
Concealing White House Visitors
Handing over Tillerson coverage to the Kremlin (as Tillerson refuses to let US press pool cover him while he meets with Vladimir Putin)
Week 11
April 1 – 7
Seeking to unmask a Trump critic (as Department of Homeland Security tried to force Twitter to reveal a source with ties to the CDC who was critical of the administration)
Baseless charges against Susan Rice (that she mishandled classified information)
Week 10
March 25 – 31
Ridiculing female journalists (April Ryan and Tara Palmeri)
Threatening to roll back press rights(threatens to change libel laws to protect himself from criticism)
Accusations that Obama administration did “very, very bad things”
Gives son-in-law and daughter positions in administration despite having no experience and despite anti-nepotism laws
Week 9
March 18 - 24
“I’m President, and you’re not” (response to TIME Magazine reporter, Michael Sherer when he questioned Trump about overt lies)
Denying Russian interference (by twisting the interpretation of Comey’s testimony)
Attacking an NFL star (taking credit for the fact that political protester Colin Kaepernick was dropped from his team)
Week 8
Mary 11 - 17
More sketchy wiretap claims (without evidence claiming that British intelligence had helped Obama spy on Trump)
Threatening a US circuit court (suggesting that the 9th circuit, which had ruled against him on the Immigration Ban be disbanded)
Week 7
March 4 - 10
The explosive Obama wiretapping claim (based on no evidence except Breitbart News claims, and publically denied by James Comey)
Traction with demonizing the media (81% of Republicans agree with Trump that certain news agencies are enemies of the people)
Week 6
February 25 – March 3
Vilifying the New York Times (as Trump claims the intent of the New York Times is evil and bad)
Week 5
February 18 – 24
Shutting out the press (Sean Spicer bars the NY Times, CNN, Politico, LA Times and Buzzfeed from an untelevised Press briefing)
Tarring the media as an “enemy of the people”
Week 4
February 11 – 17
“The powers of the President to protect the country will not be questioned” (Presidential Adviser, Steven Miller)
Week 3
February 4 – 10
Personally attacking a federal judge (after Seattle district judge, James Robart issued a stay on Trump’s immigration ban)
Mocking a state senator (as Trump threatened to ruin the career of a Texas Senator who wanted to limit asset forfeiture)
Week 2
January 27 – February 3
Threatening to defund a university (after protests at UCLA -Berkley prevent right- winger Milo Yiannopolous from speaking)
Politicizing the National Security Council (as Trump downgrades the positions of the CIA Director and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff)
Week 1
January 20 - 26
Telling the media to keep its mouth shut (Steve Bannon)
A massive-voter fraud conspiracy (Trump’s claim that millions voted illegally for Hillary Clinton)
“Alternative facts” (Kelly Anne Conway’s explanation of Sean Spicer’s overt lies about inauguration day crowd size)
Summary of Authoritarian Red Flags – adapted from Mother Jones
Week 27
July 22 – 28
Attacking the Attorney General, the acting FBI director; and the Special Counsel
Politicizing healthcare via the US Energy Department
Relegating the free press to sewer
“Complete power to pardon”
Calls for the prosecution of his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton
Turns the Boy Scout Jamboree, into a partisan rally
Week 26
July 15 - 21
Undermining the special counsel’s Russia investigation
Sabotaging healthcare
More voter conspiracy theory
Attacks on top US Law Enforcement Leader
More “fake news” invective and press blackouts
Undermines the Congressional Budget Office
US Department of the Interior top climate official reassigned to an accounting job
Threatens Senator Heller that if he doesn’t vote for “Trumpcare”
Week 25
July 8 – 14
A phony Loretta Lynch conspiracy
Trump Dynasty at the G20 (Ivanka taking on role of POTUS when he stepped away)
Trump vows to fight fake news with authoritarian Polish President, Andrzej Duda
Week 24
July 1 – 7
The doctored wrestling video and a sustained assault on CNN
Mocking reporters with Putin
Trump suggests that states that are not complying with submitting voter rolls are a conspiracy
Week 23
June 24 –30
Trump’s misogyny returns (as he tweets insulting remarks about Mika Brzezinski)
Demands voter data ( under direction of Chris Kobach of Trump’s appointed Presidential Commission on Voter Integrity)
Week 22
June 17 - 23
Trump’s “tapes” bluff revealed
Press briefing blackouts
Week 21
June 10 - 16
Trump’s growing list of personal targets (including Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller)
A bizarrely fawning cabinet meeting
Week 20
June 3 – 9
Attacks on the Ex-FBI Director (James Comey) and the London Mayor (Sadiq Khan after terrorist attack on the London Bridge)
Week 19
May 27 – June 2
The CBO’s healthcare “conspiracy”
More attacks on press (following reports of increased FBI scrutiny on Jared Kushner)
Week 18
May 20 – 26
Praise for murderous dictators and iron-fisted regimes (eg. Praise for Phillipines President Rodrigo Duterte for work on drug problem, when it appears that thousands were murdered in this program)
In Saudi Arabia, US press forbidden while foreign press were welcomed
Week 17
May 13 - 19
Silence on Erdogan’s violent thugs in DC (outside the Turkish Embassy)
Pressure to jail reporters (reports that he had pressured Comey to imprison reporters who published classified information.)
Week 16
May 6 – 12
The firing of FBI Director Comey
Multiple attacks on the media
Week 15
April 29 – May 5
Downgrading human rights (Dropped the White House position)
Embracing autocrats (Putin, Kim Jung Un, Xi Jinping, Fata el-Sisi,Marine LePen)
Pushing “fake news” ad (criticized CNN for not running an ad claiming that mainstream reporters wrote “fake news”
Week 14
April 22 – 28
Attacking US Courts (for blocking his defunding of sanctuary cities)
Promoting Trump’s Private Club ( by State Department and two US Embassies)
Week 13
April 15 – 21
Threats against Sanctuary Cities (Sessions threatens to hold funds)
Secret White House Waivers (To permit certain staffers from following ethics rules)
Week 12
April 8 - 14
Concealing White House Visitors
Handing over Tillerson coverage to the Kremlin (as Tillerson refuses to let US press pool cover him while he meets with Vladimir Putin)
Week 11
April 1 – 7
Seeking to unmask a Trump critic (as Department of Homeland Security tried to force Twitter to reveal a source with ties to the CDC who was critical of the administration)
Baseless charges against Susan Rice (that she mishandled classified information)
Week 10
March 25 – 31
Ridiculing female journalists (April Ryan and Tara Palmeri)
Threatening to roll back press rights(threatens to change libel laws to protect himself from criticism)
Accusations that Obama administration did “very, very bad things”
Gives son-in-law and daughter positions in administration despite having no experience and despite anti-nepotism laws
Week 9
March 18 - 24
“I’m President, and you’re not” (response to TIME Magazine reporter, Michael Sherer when he questioned Trump about overt lies)
Denying Russian interference (by twisting the interpretation of Comey’s testimony)
Attacking an NFL star (taking credit for the fact that political protester Colin Kaepernick was dropped from his team)
Week 8
Mary 11 - 17
More sketchy wiretap claims (without evidence claiming that British intelligence had helped Obama spy on Trump)
Threatening a US circuit court (suggesting that the 9th circuit, which had ruled against him on the Immigration Ban be disbanded)
Week 7
March 4 - 10
The explosive Obama wiretapping claim (based on no evidence except Breitbart News claims, and publically denied by James Comey)
Traction with demonizing the media (81% of Republicans agree with Trump that certain news agencies are enemies of the people)
Week 6
February 25 – March 3
Vilifying the New York Times (as Trump claims the intent of the New York Times is evil and bad)
Week 5
February 18 – 24
Shutting out the press (Sean Spicer bars the NY Times, CNN, Politico, LA Times and Buzzfeed from an untelevised Press briefing)
Tarring the media as an “enemy of the people”
Week 4
February 11 – 17
“The powers of the President to protect the country will not be questioned” (Presidential Adviser, Steven Miller)
Week 3
February 4 – 10
Personally attacking a federal judge (after Seattle district judge, James Robart issued a stay on Trump’s immigration ban)
Mocking a state senator (as Trump threatened to ruin the career of a Texas Senator who wanted to limit asset forfeiture)
Week 2
January 27 – February 3
Threatening to defund a university (after protests at UCLA -Berkley prevent right- winger Milo Yiannopolous from speaking)
Politicizing the National Security Council (as Trump downgrades the positions of the CIA Director and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff)
Week 1
January 20 - 26
Telling the media to keep its mouth shut (Steve Bannon)
A massive-voter fraud conspiracy (Trump’s claim that millions voted illegally for Hillary Clinton)
“Alternative facts” (Kelly Anne Conway’s explanation of Sean Spicer’s overt lies about inauguration day crowd size)