Trump’s Authoritarian Fantasy
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | October 22, 2020
“Trump would like to succeed King George III as the first dictator of the United States. The American people are not about to let that happen.”
There may be no better example of President Trump’s governing tendencies as a two-bit, anti-democratic authoritarian than his obsession with jailing his political opponents and labeling them as criminals.
His actions demonstrate that his role model for the presidency is not any former American President, but rather his apparent idol, the president and dictator of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
This started with the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump provided “100 percent approval” of his supporters’ chants of “lock her up” about his opponent Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s un-American tactics reached a crescendo in 2019 when he attempted to coerce and blackmail the Ukraine president into opening a criminal investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
That failed effort led to Trump’s impeachment by the House of Representatives last year. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying to have his political opponents thrown in jail.
In 2020, a crazed Trump has continued to label his political opponents as criminals and attempted to get them indicted.
Earlier this month, Trump called former President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden criminals who should be indicted, absurdly claiming that they had committed “the greatest political crime in the history of the country.” Of course, he never provides a shred of evidence to support his unfounded claims of criminality – because there is no evidence.
Lately, Trump has been attacking Attorney General William Barr, his most loyal supplicant, for failing to take action that would show Biden is being investigated for criminal activity. Earlier, this week Trump publicly pressured Barr to appoint a special prosecutor or similar investigator, saying, “He’s got to act. And he’s got to act fast. This is major corruption, and this has to be known about before the election.”
This is the kind of stuff that occurs in countries run by dictators, autocrats, tyrants, and despots. This occurs in countries that do not have the rule of law, do not have a system of justice that protects the innocent, and do not provide constitutional protections for their citizens.
Fortunately, that’s not how our country operates, despite Trump’s recklessly irresponsible efforts. Even Attorney General Barr, who has repeated abused his authority to advance the personal political interests of President Trump, has not been willing to walk the extra mile and indict Trump’s political opponents – so far.
Trump would like to succeed King George III as the first dictator of the United States. The American people are not about to let that happen.
###
