Trump 'could launch a war' to justify cracking down on Americans' rights: scholar

Multiple experts on authoritarianism who spoke with the Washington Post expressed alarm at former President Donald Trump's stated willingness to be a "dictator" and one outlined some of the extreme measures that Trump could take to justify expanding his power.

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, said that Trump use the presidency's expansive foreign policy powers in a way to justify what the Post describes as "a crackdown on rights at home."

"The minute Trump becomes commander in chief he could launch a war, assassinate leaders abroad and more," Scheppele warned.

Another alarming proposal coming from Trump's camp involves invoking the insurrection act to use the military to put down protests against Trump's government.

Daniel Treisman, professor of political science at the University of California at Los Angeles, said that such an abuse of power would likely go unchecked given that "a friendly Republican Party" will cover for him.

And historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, argued to the Post that no one should take comfort from Trump claiming he only wanted to be a dictator for just one day to close the southern border.

“I know of zero dictators who became more democratic,” she said. “That’s not how autocrats behave.”