It doesn’t take an insurrection at all for a liberal democracy to descend into authoritarianism and illiberal democracy. Be very concerned when political rhetoric descends into endless hectoring about a so-called deep state and fake news.
Authoritarianism gains currency when political leaders devolve into warring camps, impugning the legitimacy, motives, and even the loyalty of the opposition. Be concerned when political leaders impugn the integrity of a free press by labeling legitimate news sources and news agencies as the enemy of the people. When the government routinely attacks the legitimacy of the press, see it for what it generally is: an attack on liberal democracy. Indeed, be very concerned because that’s pretty much where we find ourselves today.
When an American president first referred to the traditional American press as the “enemy of the American People,” as President Trump did upon first assuming office in 2017, America had begun its modern flirtation with presidential authoritarianism. President Trump is, by nature, an authoritarian. His political temperament is much more in the mold of Viktor Orban, Tayyip Erdogan, or Vladimir Putin than that of George Bush 41 or 43, or Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, or scores of other American Presidents. Suffice it to say, Donald Trump is, by nature, neither Jeffersonian nor Madisonian. If anything, Trump is more Jacksonian. Andrew Jackson, like Donald Trump, claimed an election was rigged, abused power, pursued tariffs, shuttered federal agencies, and survived attempted assassinations. He, unlike Trump, was a child of poverty, fought in his country’s battles, and was a war hero.
A hallmark of authoritarian newspeak is when politicians refer to opponents as the enemy of the people. We needn’t fear that America will ever deteriorate into a dictatorship. What should be of greater concern is that America might descend into an authoritarian, illiberal democracy. It will still be a democracy because our elections will still take place. Still, it will become an illiberal democracy because the American tradition of a strong, edgy, and questioning press may be compromised by an administration that threatens broadcast journalism with revocation of broadcast licenses and newspapers with costly litigation.
President Trump is both the legitimately elected President of the United States and a textbook authoritarian. Authoritarian regimes do not jettison elections. Authoritarians, instead, subvert the role of a free press and thereby weaken the guardrails that are essential to liberal democracies. That is why we have heard so much rhetoric during the last election about fake news. Donald Trump isn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, the only world figure to impugn the integrity of the press. Think of Alberto Fujimori’s Peru, Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela, or the regimes that govern El Salvador, Hungary, India, Tunisia, and Turkey, to name a few.
As Trump’s early actions have made clear, the cost of opposition could be substantial. For example, donors to Democrats might be targeted by the IRS. Businesses not deemed sufficiently loyal to the Administration could face heightened tax, legal, and regulatory scrutiny. Media that are critical of the Administration could confront costly suits or other legal actions against their parent companies. During Trump’s campaigns, he has sued the Des Moines Register, ABC News, CBS's 60 Minutes, Simon & Schuster, and CNN. In addition to the cost of settling litigation arising out of these legal actions, Trump’s propensity to sue could have a chilling effect on the media’s propensity to criticize. That, of course, is the point.
Of course, organizations can still object to government policy, but such opposition can result in various forms of backlash, leading some to decide that fighting the Administration is too risky.
Trump's authoritarian executive orders.
Some see President Trump’s flurry of executive orders as authoritarian because they are often arbitrary and skirt existing checks and balances.
For example:
*ending birthright citizenship,
*invoking the "Alien Enemies Act" to detain and deport people based on their country of origin, without due process.
*Issuing executive orders imposing sanctions and restrictions on law firms and institutions.
*Restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
*Executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI programs in the federal government and pressuring private entities to roll back similar practices.
*Overhauling U.S. elections: An order implementing changes to federal election procedures, such as stricter requirements for mail-in ballots and photo identification.
Complaints are growing that President Trump’s actions are just plain authoritarian. Professor David Pozen of Columbia University says Trump has illegally fired federal workers, impounded congressional appropriations, and seized people off the street without due process to be deported to foreign prisons.
Daniel Stockemer, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa, refers to various of Trump’s actions pertaining to his attacks on law firms, universities, immigrants, and others as incremental autocratization, which he says is a form of democratic erosion.
President Trump also seems determined to scuttle the protections federal civil service workers have against the political demands that could be made of them by his Administration or any other administration that follows his presidency. He has issued an executive order reinstating Schedule F, an arcane executive order that gives the President the power to transfer thousands of government employees from specific protected civil service jobs into “at will” employees (think employees who can be fired at the will of the President and replaced with political loyalists). It is estimated that such a move could increase the number of federal employees who could be fired at will by the President more than tenfold. President Trump announced his intention to fire the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, and the director of the IRS, Danny Werfel. Both of these career public servants immediately announced their resignations. They will, of course, be replaced with Trump loyalists.
So, this, in a nutshell, is a glimpse of how authoritarianism takes shape in an administration obsessed with fidelity to the President. Career public servants learn just how short a career can be in service to the nation. It sets a horrible precedent for things to come as new administrations come to power.
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Recent podcasts have featured my commentary on Liz Cheney’Cheney's “Oath of Honor,” as well as my commentaries regarding:
US Representative Jim Jordan,
Brian Kemp and Those Republicans of Georgia,
The Trump Indictments,
The Fox Corp Settlement,
The CNN Trump Town Hall,
The Hunter Biden plea deal,
The New American Cult of Personality,
and my interviews with William Bratton, Retired Chief of Police in New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston;
Rikki Klieman, Attorney, Network News Analyst, and best-selling author;
John Thoresen, Executive Director, Barbara Sinatra Children's Center;
Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry and founder of the Institute for Political Innovation;
I do not like the President's personality - his demeaning remarks about political foes, his accusations that may or may not be true at the time - but I do support many of his initiatives - however crude his language may be. To me, it represents the blowback against the ultra left policies of the Obama-Biden administrations - and the overwhelming bias of much of our media.
I want a bipartisan federal government with representatives that support their constituents and American rights/values as expressed in our founding docs. I want national media that is critical of actions they oppose - expressing pro and con points of view - without extreme headlines.
Many of our education institutions have been 'taken over' by extremists who oppose traditional American values and discriminate against (hate) those with a different point of view.
We will pay for the open borders that led to millions of illegal immigrants for more than a generation. Yes, our immigration laws need reform - but illegal activities are not the answer.
I look forward to a new generation of leadership in 2028 that will represent all of us.
I do not like the President's personality - his demeaning remarks about political foes, his accusations that may or may not be true at the time - but I do support many of his initiatives - however crude his language may be. To me, it represents the blowback against the ultra left policies of the Obama-Biden administrations - and the overwhelming bias of much of our media.
I want a bipartisan federal government with representatives that support their constituents and American rights/values as expressed in our founding docs. I want national media that is critical of actions they oppose - expressing pro and con points of view - without extreme headlines.
Many of our education institutions have been 'taken over' by extremists who oppose traditional American values and discriminate against (hate) those with a different point of view.
We will pay for the open borders that led to millions of illegal immigrants for more than a generation. Yes, our immigration laws need reform - but illegal activities are not the answer.
I look forward to a new generation of leadership in 2028 that will represent all of us.
You have described the Democrat Party perfectly.