Autocracy

Trump's dictatorial acts have been a focus of mine since Inauguration Day. I mainly zero in on the how, rather than the what. It's not even debatable that one-man rule, with the legislative majority largely subservient, and the highest court complicit, isn't a dictatorship, or at least an autocracy. Supporters and enablers of Trump like to argue that we're not in a dictatorship because in a dictatorship I wouldn't be able to freely express my opinion, and millions of people wouldn't have been able to protest on No Kings Day last weekend.  Somehow they believe that dictatorships spring up fully formed from the brow of Zeus, and that they don't incrementally erode freedom and democracy until we have neither. We aren't (yet) at the point of 1930's Germany, or The Soviet Union under Stalin, but we are moving in that direction. One argument is that dictators seize power through violence or other illegal means, but there are examples of dictators, like Vladimir Putin who were initially elected, but who eroded democracy after assuming office. 

Just saying that you want to govern as an unquestioned ruler doesn't make you a dictator, but it tells you what the intent is, but it still needs the acquiescence of the other power centers that are designed to be checks on a president's power. We are seeing both. Trump subscribes to the Unitary Executive Theory, which states that the Executive branch of government set in Article II of the Constitution is the president. Not the president and all the various executive branch regulatory and enforcement agencies. All the agencies, cabinet departments, bureaus and their employees are completely subordinate to the president and exist only to carry out his will. In this theory, legislative intent, budget allocation, anything that dilutes the president's absolute authority is invalid and unconstitutional. Trump has taken this theory, which I doubt he understands the nuances of, and expanded it to embrace the idea that the president can do whatever he wants. He has said exactly that on several occasions. He's not even trying to hide it. 

In addition to the intent to rule unilaterally, the other branches of government must allow him to do so. The Republican majority in Congress has done just that. I have commented many times on the cultish behavior and mindset of Trump supporters. The Republicans in Congress fall into that special category of cult followers who know that what their cult leader is saying is complete bullshit, but follow along in order to retain their own associated power. It has been demonstrated that in most cases getting on Trump's bad side will get you primaried by a Trump loyalist. As in any religious cult, the only way to get ahead and to retain power and influence is to express fealty to the leader. Therefore Congress, instead of operating as a coequal branch of government, marches to Trump's tune. They have stood idly by as Trump has dismantled whole agencies that have been created by Congress, refused to carry out priorities passed by Congress, and spent only the funds that he agreed with. 

The courts are a (slightly) different story. While district courts and some federal appeals courts have ruled administration actions as illegal or unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has been more sympathetic, often forgetting that they adhere to the textualism/originalism judicial philosophy. He has been given permission to rule by fiat. 

So, what has Trump done with his ability rule as an autocrat? 

• He has unleashed what amounts to a personal army in the form of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct a reign of terror in our cities. We can disagree about immigration policies, but ICE is not prioritizing criminal immigrant gangs, but the low-hanging fruit of people who are attempting to "do it right". Legal residents and even citizens are being caught up in ICE's nets and due process has been eliminated in many cases. 
• Despite his pledge to "bring back free speech" he has targeted immigrants, even those here legally, for making public statements that he disagreed with, such as support for Palestinians
• Free speech was threaten in the aftermath of the murder of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk. Government officials actively went after people who had an unapproved opinion of Kirk. 
• The military has been dispatched to several cities. This is illegal except with very narrow exceptions. The National Guard has been activated in several states, often against the wishes of those states' governors, ostensibly to aid in law enforcement. Despite court rulings prohibiting this, Trump has activated National Guard units from states with sympathetic governors to states that don't want them there. This is arguably the same as sending in the military. Trump told a gathering of Generals, Admirals and Senior NCOs that our cities could be used as training grounds for the military. 
• He has authorized the military to kill alleged drug runners in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. We are not at war with the suspects' countries of origin, they haven't fired on our military, and no due process has even been considered.
• He has turned our economy into a vehicle for his personal grievances.  His tariff "policies" are incoherent and are often based on who annoyed him rather than what is best for the nation's economy. Tariffs are the purview of Congress. 
• He has turned the increasingly-inaccurately-named-Justice Department into a personal vendetta arm of government. He has fired dozens of lawyers and other staffers who were involved in previous investigations into his alleged illegal activities. He has targeted those who spoke out against him for prosecution, including former members of his administration and other Republicans. He has pardoned or commuted sentences of political allies. 
• Journalists who offended him have had their White House credentials revoked. The entire Pentagon press corps was pressured to sign an agreement that they would only report pre-approved information. Most walked out rather than agree. 
• His crypto business is an easy way for prospective supporters to funnel bribes his way. 
• He has pushed states with majority Republican legislatures to gerrymander their Congressional districts to gain a electoral advantage in the midterms. He is sending "election monitors" to California and New Jersey. He has claimed that early and mail voting, which favor Democrats, will be banned
• He has openly speculated about seeking a third term, despite its unconstitutionality. Adding to his characterization of the media that he didn't like as "the enemy of the people", he has tarred anyone who opposed him as "the enemy within". 

Many of his supporters seem fine with this, since they believe that his depredations won't affect them. They increasingly downplay the concept of democracy and play up the undemocratic aspects of our system of government. . Even if there are policies of Trump's that one agrees with, there's no question that he is governing as an authoritarian, an autocrat, a dictator, and that our country has become an autocracy, and the ruling cabal a dictatorship.