These MAGA Republicans long for a 'Red Caesar' to 'impose a dictatorship' on America

In the past, the Claremont Institute — founded in 1979 by Barry Goldwater ally Harry V. Jaffa — was known for being a conventional conservative think tank. But in recent years, Claremont has taken a far-right hyper-MAGA turn.

Some members have promoted the idea that the United States, in order to survive, needs to leave democracy behind — and that traditional Reagan or Goldwater conservatism no longer works.

In an article published by The Guardian on October 2, journalist Jason Wilson describes the "Red Caesar" ideology that some Claremont members and MAGA Republicans are now promoting.

"For the last three years," Wilson explains, "parts of the American right have advocated a theory called Caesarism as an authoritarian solution to the claimed collapse of the U.S. republic in conference rooms, podcasts and the house organs of the extreme right — especially those associated with the Claremont Institute think tank…. Their calls for a 'Red Caesar' are now only growing louder as Donald Trump, whose supporters attempted to violently halt the election of Joe Biden in 2020, has assumed dominant frontrunner status in the 2024 Republican nomination race."

Wilson adds, "Trump, who also faces multiple criminal indictments, has spoken openly of attacking the free press in the U.S. and having little regard for American constitutional norms should he win the White House again. The idea that the U.S. might be redeemed by a Caesar — an authoritarian, right-wing leader — was first broached explicitly by Michael Anton, a Claremont senior fellow and Trump presidential adviser."

Anton, according to Wilson, has defined Caesarism as a "form of one-man rule: halfway.… between monarchy and tyranny."

Damon Linker, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, discussed "Caesarism" with The Guardian and warned that Anton and others associated with Claremont "have convinced themselves thoroughly that the current order is decadent, corrupt and far removed from the proper, admirable origins of American government."

Linker told The Guardian, "The fact that Trump lost in 2020 has just radicalized a lot of these people. It occurred to them that they might not win a proper election again. That would mean that — excuse the language — they’re s*** out of luck unless there's some other path to power. That's where Caesarism comes in."

According to Linker, the possibility of a dictatorship in the U.S. under a "Red Caesar" should not be taken lightly.

Linker told The Guardian, "Thirty years ago, if I told you that a bunch of billionaires and intellectuals on the right are waiting in the wings to impose a dictatorship on the United States, you would have said that I was insane. But it's no longer insane. It's now real. There are those people out there. The question is: Will they get their chance?"