Authoritarian America
The Evolution of Trumpism
Part 1/2
Authoritarian (adjective): favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
The descent of Trump from President to authoritarian figure has been a steady happening throughout his term in office. Of course, Trump himself would claim that he has never sidestepped the Constitution and that his decisions are what is best for the United States. This is inherently false and recently, it has become apparent that reelecting Donald Trump would be a threat to Democracy in the United States.
Trump’s “LAW AND ORDER” rhetoric is not a recent phenomenon. It was apparent from the very beginning that Trump had authoritarian tendencies. When he first took office, one of his first agenda items was to limit people coming to this country. It was on Friday, January 27, just 7 days after being elected that he signed this Executive Order, banning foreign nationals from 7 predominately Muslim countries from visiting the US for 90 days. What should have scared people then and what should terrify them now is that Trump continues to bypass Congress and pass EO after EO, regardless of his Constitutional authority to do so.
Dating back to 2012, Donald Trump was critical of the ability for a President, specifically Barack Obama, to issue Executive Order after Executive Order, calling them “major power grabs of authority.” What is ironic about that statement is that in each year of his presidency, Trump has signed more EOs than Obama did in the corresponding year of his presidency. To date, Trump has signed 182 executive orders in his 3 ½ years in office. This can be compared to President Obama, who signed 276 in his 8 years in office. If Trump were to be reelected and keep on his same pace for EOs, this would mean that he would sign 485 total Executive Orders. Nothing authoritarian about that, right?
What has been most alarming in recent history is Trump’s stance on protests. In the wake of recent events involving senseless police brutality, protests demanding change have occurred in 2440 different locations across all 50 states and Washington D.C., totaling over 10,600 demonstrations. Trump has called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate” and that corporations that support Black Lives Matter are led by “weak people.” Trump’s feelings towards the movement have resulted in countless tweets stating nothing more than “LAW AND ORDER.” Trump would rather protests be suppressed and voices be silenced than allow people to speak out regarding the injustices that continue to take place in this country.
America, a nation founded by protests, is under attack by the man at its helm. He has called protesters terrorists, and has issued threats to those who speak out. Trump’s latest stunts, including his photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church, may serve as the tipping point, should he be reelected, for the United State’s fall from democratic republic to an authoritarian state.
The Breaking Point
Part 2/2
Historians will argue when the first real “shots” were fired allowing our government to officially start the slide toward a modern American brand of Fascism. Trump has made no attempts to hide his Nationalist and Fascist tendencies that he has tried to disguise with words like “conservatism” and “populism.” But there is no mistake that Fascism is alive and well in “Trumpism” and he will continue to employ these tactics if re-elected. One date to argue as the official beginning was June 1, 2020, when Attorney General William Barr came out to survey a route that Trump would be taking from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church, approximately 1000 feet in length across Lafayette Square, for a brief photo op after a Rose Garden press conference where he proclaimed to be the president of law and order and a friend to peaceful protesters. According to timelines and reports from both The Washington Post and The New York Times, Barr didn’t like that the perimeter for the peaceful protesters, assembled in protest of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, was too close to the route, and had them summarily moved back by the military and law enforcement agents that were assigned to the area. Let that sink in: The Attorney General of the United States, the highest lawyer in the land, who is supposed to represent the people of the United States, essentially commanded a standing army for the president.
The days leading up to this incident in Lafayette Square were not good for Trump. He was reported to have hidden in the White House bunker on Friday night as the protesting in the city was gaining momentum. The news cycle was not in his favor and Trump was angry. In an effort to show his brand of strength and leadership Trump gave his Rose Garden press conference and then announced he was going to go somewhere very special to him. At Attorney General Barr’s order, chemical agents and officers on horseback were used to push protesters and move the perimeter back by Park Police, Secret Service, DC National Guard, and Arlington County (VA) police who were deployed to Lafayette Square to monitor the protesters. Contrary to Trump’s tweet later commending the troops and law enforcement, including DC Police, the city made it clear that DC Police were not involved. DC Police chief Peter Newsham recalled, “We heard that there was going to be an unscheduled presidential movement. Just a few minutes later, our teams on the ground learned [chemical] munitions were going to be used. The munitions were deployed minutes later.” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) came out immediately against Trump’s notion of federalizing the DC Police: “I don’t think the military should be used in the streets of American cities against Americans,” she said to The New York Times. “And I definitely don’t think it should be done for a show.” And indeed it was a show. In the same New York Times story cited here, the president’s daughter, Ivanka, who strode over with a few dozen other officials, some in military uniform, pulled out a bible from her $1500 MaxMara designer handbag, gave it to her father, who held it up stern-faced in front of a church he does not attend, with protestors behind him who were recently attacked with chemical agents. Photos were taken, nothing was said, and they walked back over to the White House.
The following morning, Tuesday, June 2, while Trump tweeted his praise for a job well done by military and civil police in moving back the protestors, “The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!” (remember: DC police were not involved) and, “Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination. Likewise, Minneapolis was great (thank you President Trump!),” the protesting crowds returned in bigger numbers and were bolstered by more reasons to protest the White House and Trump. Not only does he favor the use of violence on citizens by law enforcement and military, he will go to no ends to use them to meet his desire to sow chaos. In the months that have followed the Lafayette Square incident, we have seen more protests in other parts of the country and more support by this president for using any means necessary to quell them, including acts of violence by Trump-supporting vigilantes. Lafayette Square was not in a vacuum, and Trump is using his words and Tweets to continue the sowing of chaos, feeding the seeds necessary to allow his brand of Fascism to take root.
