Well, give him credit for candor regarding his vision for America. Former President Trump has shared with us what another Trump presidency (and a Trumpian America) might look like. The model for Trump's America is apt to be Hungary in the style of Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
Listen to Trump one week ago in Manchester, New Hampshire: "There is a great man, a great leader in Europe — Viktor Orbán. He is probably, like, one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world," Trump extolled. "He's the leader of Turkey (well, Trump was never one for details), and Orbán has a "front" with Russia (wrong again with the details unless Trump has already ceded Ukraine, which separates Orbán's Hungary from Putin's Russia by over 800 miles), but one gets the point. Orbán and Trump comprise a mutual admiration society. During an interview with Tucker Carlson last year, Orbán swooned, "Only Trump can save the Western world." Yes, Orbán said that, and Trump probably believes it. It is no mystery why Trump loves strongmen, even if he isn't sure where, geographically, they govern.
Orbán was no doubt pleased with the praise Trump accorded him. Americans, however, should be concerned. It represents Trump's clearest embrace of the strongman brand of authoritarianism that the former President longs to introduce to America if he ever again occupies the Oval Office.
Victor Orbán's Hungary is an illiberal democracy. The United States of America was created as, and is, a liberal democracy. The difference between the two forms of democracy is enormous. Our founders understood the enormity of that difference, as has every President of the United States, until perhaps, Donald Trump.
Liberal democracy was envisioned and advocated by English philosopher (and physician) John Locke, to whom we Americans owe so much. Locke died nearly 100 years before The United States of America was born. Still, his brilliance and his writing, perhaps more than anything else, provided that kernel of an idea that ultimately resulted in the America of George Washington, James Madison, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and those other incredible founders to whom we owe so much.
We Americans must understand the difference between American liberal democracy as envisioned by our founders and the illiberal democracy of Victor Orbán's Hungary, as, no doubt, envisioned or at least longed for by Donald Trump. The illiberal democracy as practiced in Hungary, which Trump so admires, would reshape, for the worse, the America our founders painstakingly constructed by embracing Locke's vision of a liberal democracy. Liberal democracy assures there are checks and balances that protect against the ambitions of all-powerful strongmen who do not have to deal with the inconvenience of co-equal branches of government.
America's constitutional liberal democracy, with its three co-equal branches of government, protects the people against an autocratic president coming to power and then, essentially, pursues the power of a dictator. In America, we have institutions that protect us from such abuses by a rogue President.
Richard Nixon departed the presidency after Watergate because a courageous, little known, federal judge, John Sirica, ordered him to surrender to federal prosecutors his Oval Office recordings of discussions regarding the raid on the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at Washington's Watergate complex. Think of that. Judge Sirica, a relatively unknown, no-nonsense federal judge, stood as an equal to the President of the United States in our liberal democracy concerning the adjudication of the Watergate affair. Likewise, in our liberal democracy, while an American President can veto legislation, our legislature can override a President's veto.
Victor Orbán is outspoken in his contempt for liberal democracy compared to Hungary's illiberal democracy. Does anyone wonder what Donald Trump's unspoken views are regarding the difference between illiberal and liberal democracy? Our liberal democracy, with its co-equal branches of government, as envisioned by James Madison, provides checks and balances between the legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power.
Zselyke Csaky and Nate Schenkkan, writing for Freedom House, the Washington-based nonprofit that promotes democracy as a counterbalance to authoritarianism, note that "Illiberalism" is not a derogatory code word for "policies we disagree with." It is an ideological stance that rejects the necessity of independent institutions as checks on the government and dismisses the idea of legitimate disagreement in the public sphere.
It is no wonder Donald Trump admires Viktor Orbán's illiberal democracy, where no such balance of power exists. Trump's attorneys had to go to America's co-equal courts in our liberal democracy to challenge the 2020 election, which, of course, he lost handily. Trump had to abide by the judgment of our courts just as any other citizen would have to do. That's what distinguishes our liberal democracy from Hungary's illiberal democracy over which Trump fawns.
Trump, like Orbán, is a strong opponent of immigration and an equally strong proponent of racial purity. It's no surprise then that Trump, almost channeling Orbán, openly laments the way immigrants are "destroying the blood and fabric of our country."
Of particular concern is how much Trump may try to emulate Orbán's emasculation of a free and independent press in Hungary. Reporters Without Borders, the French-based international nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of information, describes Orbán as a press freedom predator. While privately owned independent media exists in Hungary, Reporters Without Borders claims the Orbán government subjects Hungarian media to substantial pressure, if not control.
Since Orbán came to power in Hungary, Reporters Without Borders says he has attacked media pluralism and independence unceasingly. For example, much of Hungary's print and broadcast media is controlled by the Central European Press and Media Foundation, which has close ties to the Orbán government. The foundation's numerous media assets were either started or acquired by Orbán loyalists and then donated to the foundation about five years ago. Orbán has little to worry about concerning potential criticism from the Hungarian press.
One can only imagine what Trump would give to be able to assert such influence, if not control, over the press in America.
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Please consider our Of Thee I Sing 1776 Premium option. While my weekly column is always free, for just $5/month, you’ll also receive my annual ebook, “Essays For Our Time,” and my new Podcasts.
Trump is an embarrassment whenever he speaks about international or domestic situations or people without any accurate understanding of the facts. While some of his messaging is appropriate the majority is ill formed and will not 'make America great again'. What we need are leaders who will work with those with differing views to reach an agreement to 'solve' any of the major problems we face.
In addition to Locke's structural liberalism, well outlined here, there are other connotations that can be brought out. For decades now, Republicans have been discrediting the word "liberal." That's a disservice. "Liberal" evokes or derives from two Latin words. "Liber," which means "free" and "liberalis" which means "generous." Please warn me if there's anything wrong with being free, generous, or protected by institutions that check the abuse of power and protect the rule of law. It is conservative to be that kind of liberal.
Trump is an embarrassment whenever he speaks about international or domestic situations or people without any accurate understanding of the facts. While some of his messaging is appropriate the majority is ill formed and will not 'make America great again'. What we need are leaders who will work with those with differing views to reach an agreement to 'solve' any of the major problems we face.
In addition to Locke's structural liberalism, well outlined here, there are other connotations that can be brought out. For decades now, Republicans have been discrediting the word "liberal." That's a disservice. "Liberal" evokes or derives from two Latin words. "Liber," which means "free" and "liberalis" which means "generous." Please warn me if there's anything wrong with being free, generous, or protected by institutions that check the abuse of power and protect the rule of law. It is conservative to be that kind of liberal.