Let’s Not Be Blasé About Trump’s Dictatorial Flirtations

Even if Trump is too oafish to pull it off, there’s no denying he would be an autocrat if he could.

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Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on December 17, 2023, in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Hey,

So, the “Will Trump Be a Dictator?” conversation is not going away any time soon.

I think there are a number of reasons for this. The most obvious is that Trump cannot stop giving people fresh reasons to keep talking about it. Spewing garbage about immigrants poisoning America’s blood, calling violent convicted felons “hostages,” praising Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong Un, and of course promising to, in fact, be a “dictator” is bound to elicit some chatter. 

The second most obvious reason is that such chatter invites more chatter. The Biden camp is openly calling Trump a Hitler manqué, which invites his defenders—including various flavors of anti-anti-Trump types—to either defend him or denounce people who take Trump’s bait. Then Trump, seeing that people are talking about him and telling him what he shouldn’t say, responds by doubling down on his “poisoned blood” schtick and tosses in some comments on Mein Kampf. 

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  1. Vanbeek404

    One item that Jonah did not mention is the Supreme Court. Maybe I am being naive but it seems to me that they are all serious about the constitution and would block egregious steps by Trump to go around it. If Biden doesn't so something about the border, Trump will win. Then I guess we will find out if my hypothesis is correct. It might be our best chance.

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    1. Walter.L.Appling

      In a second term, Trump will ignore or neuter any Supreme Court rulings he thinks could constrain him in any way.

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      1. Vanbeek404

        I agree, he will try to do that. And that will be the defining moment - will the Supreme Court step up and do the right thing? And then, will the military, the Justice department, Congress, Homeland Security, the states, etc. sit back and let him defy them? That would literally be the end of the American experiment. I hope it does not come to that since there would be a massive amount of civil unrest (although there will probably be some of that from the Trumpers if he is stopped) and the economy might crash.

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  2. Robert.Zoch

    Certainly not the only example, but as good an explanation as any for why I will never support Donald Trump, under any circumstances. Well said, as always.

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  3. Kgfroehle

    Late reading this, as usual. But what continues to amuse me is that any given sentence can be linked to something. OK, JG usually reserves his links to, what, three per paragraph? But in fact
    "...Congress is moving to protect the country from such maneuvers....
    could easily be linked to three sites.

    No wonder I am awake until 0325.

    -- Lewis Carroll

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  4. Mary Stine

    This epistle illustrates why Jonah Goldberg is always worth reading. Kudos to you, Jonah for hitting the nail on the head yet again. For my money this quote says it well, also: "When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time"...Maya Angelou. Trump has been telling anyone who'd listen for ages who he really is . The problem lies partly with those people who fail to hear reality and construct fantasy versions instead ( "He's really generous and giving personally but doesn't want people to know about all the times he's used his private plane to rescue people"!) But a bigger part of the problem lies with the folks who are just fine with Trump's bullying, scapegoating and vengeance, because they've been waiting a long time for revenge on their assumed enemies. Now that Rush Limbaugh is dead, there are few other people with a rapier wit and real sense of humor to scewer the left. Trump has neither wit nor humor, but he makes up for it by constantly vilifying the left and anyone leaning slightly toward it. Trump has a clear understanding of the underbelly of American politics and a real talent for scapegoating. He understands in a visceral way that the American Nazi party, the KKK and the John Birchers never went away..they just went underground, and that their old popularity can be revived with the right timing and contemporary wording. He understands that such philosophies were never limited to right or left and has therefore been able to pick up voters from the left as well as the right. His followers and supporters scare me more than him, because they'd replace him in a heartbeat if he ever went "soft" on the people they hate.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Wj

    > Because it serves to acclimatize his fans to be comfortable with the idea of him being a dictator

    True,and sad. Same goes for when he talks admiringly about how Xi rules with an iron fist, and is very powerful and very smart.

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  6. Jvecchione

    This was brilliant. Also, it could not be done by most anti-Trump pundits. "Giving the Devil his due" is a key part of knowing how to fight him. I can not understand someone who says he's conservative-listen to Trump, then DeSantis and say "yep, Trump's who we need." But this takes a stab at it.

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  7. Russell J

    I would describe Vivek as horseradish flavored ice cream. On a more serious point, the dictator discussion sort of distracts from what Trump is most likely to do which is further damage or destroy faith in our political system. And the comment itself is one of a thousand reasons why everyone should want the guy figuratively sent to the moon.

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  8. Say Hey

    While almost every election is called "the most consequential" that usually cannot be concluded except in retrospect (1860 being an exception). In retrospect, 2012 was the most consequential. Had Romney won, as he should have,there never would have been a Trump and the GOP presumably would be considerably different. The sad thing is, Romney should have won - and of course, he bears part of the blame for that. Interestingly, all three New York tabloids endorsed him - the NY Post of course but also the NY Daily News and the Long Island tabloid Newsday, which had not endorsed a GOP candidate in 40 years.Normally, a president with Obama's economic record would not be re-elected - but he prevailed primarily on his personal charisma. The election was historic, but for a reason not often cited - Obama was the only president in US history re-elected to a 2d term with less electoral support than he had the first time. Every US president re-elected who has even a modicum of success and with all the powers of incumbency, always adds to his vote total. Think how different the last decade would have been had Romney won - very consequential.

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  9. Rlranger907

    My only quibble with Jonah is that Vanilla IS my favorite ice cream flavor. If you want to know how good the ice cream of a particular dairy actually is, choose their Vanilla. I tip my hat to creations like Cincinnati's Graeters' signature Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, or Santa Barbara-based McConnell's Sea Salt Cream and Cookies. But - and this is true of both Graeter's and McConnell's - you can taste how good their ice cream is most readily via two scoops of their Vanilla. As the signs in certain front lawns say: "Science Is Real" ;-)

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      Gorillazilla00

      While vanilla is not my favourite, I agree that you can tell a great deal about the quality of the ice cream because of the relatively mild flavour. Like getting a cheeseburger at a diner or enchiladas at a Mexican place, the basics will reveal their essence.

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  10. Sullyaugustine

    I voted for him in 2000, but I'm sad to say that if he's the nominee this time and appears to have any chance at all of winning I'll be casting my first ever presidential vote for a Democrat.

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      WilliamJ

      Edit...when?

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