For many, the evidence is in: Donald Trump wants to be an autocrat. If you have not read an opinion article or have heard a radio, television or podcast commentator make that case, it is probably because you have tried to avoid doing so. It would never be required to see cable news, including the pro-trump points, because there are few things that Fox News and its imitators love more than executing clips of MSNBC hosts and other types of “resistance”, not to mention democratic politicians, melt about the “war against democracy” of Trump, “CREPS of authoritarian power”, etc.
Advance more to the right and you will find populists than want Trump to be an autocrat. They use terms such as “Red Césarismo,” either “Neomonarchism“, While others pine for an American Pinochet either Francisco Franco or compare Trump with Biblical figures as the Persian King or King David of the former Israel. I really can't blame anyone for taking these Bonapartist pathetic in their word.
To be fair, Trump recently said “I am not a dictator. “Although that as president added, he can do” whatever he wants. “Still, I know it's a lot to do, but let's put aside the question of whether Trump really wants to be a dictator.
There is a minor load that is much easier to try. Trump wants people to speak of him as if he were a dictator. Either cosplaying, trolling or something more sinister, its position is a sure way to ensure that people will talk about him and his strength because his detractors and defenders cannot resist it.
For example, consider Trump's executive order “prohibit” the combination of flags. The friendly media covered him as an authentic prohibition And also hostile media. The Association press holder“Trump moves to prohibit the burning of the flag despite the ruling of the Supreme Court that the Constitution allows it.” Fans cheered hit the hippies, the enemies worried about another violation of the Constitution by the Fiat Executive.
But really read The executive order is not a prohibition. It is almost completely steamy Twaddle. He says that the Department of Justice must process the ardor of the flag to “the maximum extension allowed by the Constitution” and the state laws. It does not criminalize flag burning because the president cannot do that.
The order has several possible purposes. Trump expects friends and enemies to believe that the flag has prohibited ardor when he has not done so. Strength! I suspect that this also hopes that protesters will occur to burn the flag, giving it a greater political pretext to use the National Guard to crush the lengths.
Last week, a federal court, rightly, ruled that Trump exceeded his authority to raise some of his radical tariffs. In response, Trump reclaimed That, “if it is allowed to stand up, this decision would literally destroy the United States of America” and “Our military would be erased instantly.”
Now this is obvious nonsense. But if Trump believed him, there is a very easy remedy at his disposal. I could simply ask the Congress unprecedented and republican controlled gift that imposes the rates he wants, thus saving the country from total destruction.
For the same reason, the Court annulled its tariffs, which the power belongs to Congress, would undoubtedly defend them if Congress ratified them.
But Trump has not shown interest in doing that. Because? Because then they would not be his More rates. Asking permission to ask permission seems weak. Underline the constitutional principle of the mother rock that US presidents are not autocrats, a principle that does not want seem In debt to.
Politically (and characteristic), this preference for the appearance of force is perhaps Trump's greater weakness, because it prevents him from having a much more durable impact. All executive orders, some good, others not, that their superfans think that they demonstrate their strength and domain have a useful life that ends with the next president. If I really wanted to lay the foundations for a new “Golden Age”, I would be bothering the speaker Mike Johnson to put them all in law books. But that would be the price of being weak in your mind.
Trump's power is not so unprecedented As their AMENSE corner or your Cassandras choir believe. FDR and Woodrow Wilson declared that the war against constitutional and democratic “norms” possibly so frequently as Trump did. Nixon wasn't Paker either.
But what makes Trump different is his desire to show off. Traditionally, the presidents seek to assure the public that they are careful administrators of their constitutional oath.
Even if I am right, none of this solves the problem of where all this is directed. One of the consequences of pretending to be something is that, after a while, you will come to believe it yourself. Worse, many Americans could decide that they want fiction to become a fact.
UNKNOWN: @Jonahdispch
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Ideas expressed in the piece
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Trump's authoritarian position works mainly as a political theater designed to generate attention and project an image of strength, instead of representing genuine dictatorial ambitions. The author argues that Trump deliberately cultivates the discussion about his autocratic tendencies because both supporters and detractors cannot resist committing themselves to such provocative messaging.
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Many of Trump's most authoritarian executive orders are symbolic gestures that achieve much less than their dramatic presentation suggests. The executive order on the burning of flag, for example, does not really criminalize the practice, but simply order the Department of Justice to process “to the maximum extent allowed by the Constitution”, essentially maintains the status quo while creating the illusion of decisive action.
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Trump's preference for executive action on legislative solutions demonstrates a prioritization of the appearance on the substance that ultimately weakens its long -term impact. When the courts attacked their tariffs, instead of seeking the approval of the Congress that would guarantee their permanence, Trump decided to maintain the fiction of unilateral presidential power because asking Congress would undermine his image of strength and dominance.
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The historical precedent shows that the rupture of Trump's constitutional norms is not preceded, since presidents such as FDR, Woodrow Wilson and Nixon also challenged democratic institutions and constitutional limits. What distinguishes Trump is not the seriousness of his actions, but his willingness to openly presume on power instead of reassuring the public about the constitutional administration.
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The characteristic preference for appearing strong represents Trump's greater political weakness, since he prevents him from building a lasting institutional change through adequate legislative channels that would survive beyond his presidency.
Different views on the subject
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The contemporary republican party has become a genuinely totalitarian force that systematically entrusts itself into private life so that it reflects the characteristics of modern authoritarianism condemned by the conservatives of the twentieth century.[2]. This represents a fundamental deviation of the traditional conservative principles that once valued the personal autonomy and limited interference of the government in cultural and personal matters.
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Trump's impact on conservative intellectual infrastructure demonstrates a deliberate culture of Sycofancia on the discourse of principles, since he has shown little interest in committing to conservative magazines and intellectuals who prioritize facts, ideas, logic and consistency[1]. This rejection of intellectual rigor in favor of loyalty creates an environment where the rationalization of contradictory positions becomes the norm instead of a coherent policy development.
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The intellectual wing of the Trump movement is explicitly promoting the authoritarian reconstruction of American society, with national conservatives who advocate a “Catholic authoritarian social order” that would fundamentally transform democratic institutions[2]. This goes beyond mere rhetoric to represent efforts organized in systematic political and cultural transformation.
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The right cultural war strategy uses what academics describe as a version of Gleichschaltung – The Nazi Coordination Program – aimed at politicizing all aspects of society and culture[2]. This represents greater understanding among conservative intellectuals that culture serves as the support point of political power, which requires intensified cultural wars to achieve broader social control.
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Organized initiatives such as project 2025 represent a systematic planning for authoritarian governance that extends far beyond individual executive actions or theatrical gestures[3]. These comprehensive planes to redo government institutions suggest coordinated efforts to establish lasting authoritarian structures instead of temporary power samples.
