All posts tagged "Authoritarianism"

A historian flagged President Donald Trump's obsession with his White House ballroom and what its underground bunker reveals.

During an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, authoritarian expert and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat spoke about Trump's fear and paranoia, which she argues is revealed by his plans for a bunker under his White House ballroom.

"The secret of strongmen is that they live in fear, and this is why they build their bunkers," Ben-Ghiat said. "And Trump's always talking about not only the ballroom where people can adulate him, and he can get money, but the bunker underneath. That's his safe space."...

A Guardian columnist on Monday warned that behind President Donald Trump's portrayal as a "comic figure" hides a much darker reality.

Nesrine Malik explained that although some commentators have argued that Trump's "clownishness or lack of ideology" has made him less dangerous than previous authoritarian leaders, that's not the case.

"Over the past few weeks, a random kaleidoscope of images has been flashing through my head," Malik wrote. "Some are characters from movies not seen since childhood. Others are snippets from literature or iconic art. What joins them all is an exaggerated, almost kitschy evil."...

The New York Times editorial board had a message Tuesday on what it takes to defeat Trumpism — and authoritarianism — as midterms approach.

The editors described how the landslide defeat of Viktor Orban by Peter Magyar in Hungary should inspire Americans hoping to see change in the United States amid President Donald Trump's tumultuous second administration. They outlined the different ways opposing candidates could identify vulnerabilities for Trump and his regime using Magyar as an example of how to defeat autocratic rule and apply "an American version of this strategy."

By talking directly about Orban's 16 years in power and the stagnant living standards in Hungary, Magyar saw the opportunity to give voters a new promise: reliable medical care, a secure family life and retirement. He said that political connections shouldn't matter and used the frustrations people were feeling to lay out his plan. He campaigned in rural areas of the country, adopted an even harsher immigration policy and distanced himself from a Pride march and LGBTQ issues, and although the editorial board did not agree with all of his maneuvers, it did recommend other politicians look closely at the strategy. ...

President Donald Trump's ideal authoritarian blueprint has appeared to lose traction while he and other autocrats have started losing their grip on power, former Republican strategist Rick Wilson warned on Monday.

In Wilson's Substack, he described how Trump has long admired autocrats Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose political future has come into question just ahead of the upcoming election in the eastern European country.

Orbán, a longtime antagonist to the European Union, was viewed as a model by Trump and his political operatives. But now, he has started facing opposition in his country in a push by young voters in Hungary, according to The Associated Press. ...

Intelligencer writer Ed Kilgore says Friday thaat four years under President Donald Trump felt "like 40” during his first administration — but that was nothing "compared to his second."

In just a year, Kilgore wrote, the nation saw the appointment “of some of the most controversial appointees in living memory, a blizzard of executive orders, and then the passage of the most sweeping single package of legislation in the history of Congress. Toss in the occasional military strike or domestic National Guard deployment, regular raids by masked ICE and border-control agents, and serial disfigurement of the White House, and you’ve got the show that never ends.

"Three more years could indeed feel like an eternity.”...

Lev Parnas, a former associate of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, claimed in a new Substack article that the country is witnessing the beginning of the end for the MAGA movement.

"One month ago, I told you cracks were forming," Parnas wrote, citing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer echoing his warnings "about Russia’s shadow fleet, about Venezuela’s oil-for-access deals with China and Russia," and about "Qatar’s private jet 'gift' to Trump."

Parnas then shifted to the Trump–Elon Musk fallout, writing, "my sources — and believe me, these are real insiders, not cable pundits — tell me the truth is far from what they’re showing the public. Trump and Musk are finished. The relationship is over. Personal. Bitter. And escalating."...