An expert on Latin American dictators says President Donald Trump may refuse to leave office.
"What if Donald Trump refuses to leave the presidency peacefully when it’s time for him to go?" Tim Rogers asked at Fusion. "And after watching his deranged cult rally in Phoenix this week, I’m starting to think that Trump could be positioning himself to stay in power at all costs, especially in the case of an impeachment attempt."
Rogers is an expert on Nicaragua's Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) and President Daniel Ortega. He has noticed striking similarities.
"Ortega orchestrated his power grab by polarizing the country, dividing the opposition, attacking congress, demonizing the press, forbidding protest, demanding personal loyalty from all government workers, and turning all his public appearances into campaign rallies for his core base of supporters," Rogers noted. "He institutionalized his cult of personality and normalized the threats of violence and chaos that he could summon at the snap of a finger."
"It’s an attempt to blackmail our democracy with the threat of violence, as former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone recently warned," pointing to a tweet from the long-time Trump confidante:
Roger Stone says attempting to impeach Trump will trigger "an insurrection" and any lawmaker "would be endangering… https://t.co/DxXZivSh9X— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1503624612.0
Rogers has counted 10 times in 9 Latin American countries that leaders have changed the rules to extend their stay in office.
"This is a dangerous moment for the country. Trump has shown no interest in preserving the sanctity of the presidency or the traditions of U.S. democracy. He might not even be familiar with the," Rogers noted. "Trump is only interested in Trump. He’s willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of self-preservation. This is how dictatorships are born."
