Trump’s Authoritarian Future Is Already Here
Trump has kept the GOP in line and no one dares to oppose or criticize him which underscores Trump’s reign — a presidency based on the Republican’s vision of law & order and conformity and undying support to the US and propaganda.
(**Disclaimer: Because I’m an amateur writer — I can often get things wrong. I put this disclaimer over the misuse of the word authoritarian as I began writing a new article and started researching what it means, how it applies, and what a society would like under it. It was an amateur mistake, but I wanted to leave the article up as an example of how NOT to use a word you don’t fully understand. I do, however, want to make it clear that I still think Trump was trying to undermine the Constitution. I apologize for the amateur nature of this article and will try to do better going forward.)
The Republican National Convention took an ominous turn before Donald Trump gave a 70-minute speech which amounted to mostly rambling, lies, and ignoring the impact COVID-19 has had on the United States.
Overall, it was an awkward affair, but nevertheless, it’s still a powerful tool to reinforce to supporters that Trump is the future and a beacon of hope.
The convention and dismissive attitude of Trump when discussing COVID-19 however, wasn’t going to continue without a stark reminder of the reality.
As Vox pointed out in this article, it wasn’t so much as what Trump had to say; it was also the juxtaposition of the atmosphere, Trump and Pence 2020 signs, protesters, and unanimous partisan support — all of which took place at the White House which served as the backdrop which should be a violation of the Hatch Act which prohibits civil service employees from engaging in such political activities.
The optics played an integral role in forming what has seemingly already come to pass: That is an authoritarian future with Trump at the helm.
Fake news
Easily two of Trump’s favorite words.
It’s always been easy for him to dismiss any reporter or news outlet he didn’t like especially when he’s being called out on a lie.
Even when Trump and Fox News aren’t lying or misleading the public — fake news is apparently coming from Africa (as well as other places not always known.)
Misinformation experts know that with elections coming ahead in the midst of an epidemic along with civil unrest, protests, and riots — these stories will become more commonplace in an attempt to mislead voters
And they were right.
Even as I was putting this article together after citing the fake Twitter accounts from Africa being shutdown — I had to amend it to include fake news.
Sometime over the weekend, the #BideRiots began trending which is yet another conspiracy which seems to put the blame on Biden (and other Democrats) for the current riots.
The Tweets usually claimed it’s what America would look like under democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
It’s obviously a misdirect by people with a vested interest in keeping Trump in power.
But Trump is still the president at this point and he could’ve put an end to the protests without pushing the “law & order” narrative which just inadvertently led to more clashes between law enforcement and protestors.
Trump of course wouldn’t entertain that idea.
He takes advantage of these moments — usually via Twitter and retweets — since it means voters can be primed with falsehoods and beliefs that aren’t true or are misleading; they see protests as a leftist attack on democracy despite their being legitimate questions about how law enforcement responds to crimes involving minorities.
Although there is an argument to be made about whether or not these protests are effective and if they are inspiring Antifa or left-wing extremism — the latter half is not an entirely convincing argument since Antifa was never a firmly established group to begin with which could change ironically thanks to more Neo-Nazi and right-wing groups establishing themselves.
Trump’s fake news and ability to misinform his voters is reminiscent of China — a place that has its own authoritarian problems as well and is described as having an oppressive regime.
The only difference is he doesn’t need to suppress information or silence anyone who opposes him. Spam, bots, Fox News, Trump, and other conservatives are always able to make up a narrative about leftist propaganda because they’ve mastered gaslighting.
Law & order
After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd; and most recently, the shooting of Jacob Blake which resulted in him becoming paralyzed (which Trump surprisingly sort of condemned) — tensions have dramatically increased across the US.
Police have always been under scrutiny for poorly handling situations with Black people, so when Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel 4 years ago to protest their method of policing — Kaepernick was met with swift backlash when the conversation was repurposed to center around US servicemen and servicewomen and the flag.
Trump was especially angered by this and viewed it as disrespect to our country the current soldiers and veterans.
Fast-forward to the present day.
George’s Floyd’s death (among the deaths and shooting of other Black people) became the catalyst for change. It was the last straw that broke the proverbial camel's back that led to an increase in Black Lives Matter support.
Trump wasn’t going to be able to control the narrative this time.
These shootings tragically happened which was in full view of the world and no justification for them.
But Trump wouldn’t be him if he didn’t go down without a fight.
Trump’s campaign ads utilize imagery of demonstrations, damaged storefronts, and burning buildings to make his case against Biden.
He’s condemned the protests but most certainly promotes the use of force to restore order and civility.
Instead of addressing the concerns of the citizens; he’s just weaponizing the response to unjustifiable shootings.
This authoritarian stance along with misinformation is how Trump can control his voters and even embolden them.
That’s how Kyle Rittenhouse was able to prowl the streets of Kenosha.
In the aftermath of killing two people and injuring a third — he’s been hailed as a hero among conservatives.
Cops had allegedly even appreciated his efforts to help and gave him water prior to the killing.
Trump supporters are fighting back and are showing up to clash with Black Lives Matter in a bid to protect communities.
On August 30th in Portland, Oregon, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer was fatally shot after running into protesters.
The small group (estimated to only have about 20 members) describe themselves as being against big government and advocates for free speech.
Mainly Trump supporters makeup the group and they were apart of the fights of Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (though the group attempted to distance themselves from the Alt-Right shortly after).
Trump has shied away from outright denouncing most of these groups, and he hasn’t said much about these attacks other than blaming democrats.
He needs them to be the good guys and patriots standing up for America in the face of tyranny.
Unwavering support tied to religion
Religions, faith, and God are quintessential components for the GOP.
As mentioned before, Evangelicals have been very influential in Trump’s election and will provide support for him again.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son and a senior campaign official said, “People of faith are under attack”. He continued, “You’re not allowed to go to church, but mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. It’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work and school vs. rioting, looting and vandalism.”
The angle they’re playing is quite clear: not only are freedoms in jeopardy if the Democrats are elected but policies backed by a belief in religion could either not come to pass or be overturned.
For example, anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson also justifies voting for Donald Trump by saying he’s “the most pro-life president we have ever had.”
While Johnson’s speech wasn’t inherently tied to religion — Trump was able to persuade Evangelicals (and other Christians) back in 2016 by saying he’d automatically overturn Roe v. Wade.
And that may have been a pivotal factor in winning them over after a rocky start even for Trump when he was exposed for saying he grabbed women by their private area.
Others spoke of Trump in such a manner that just came off as downright bizarre.
For instance, Matt Gaetz also spoke very highly of Trump.
Gaetz said if Biden and Harris are elected, they would, “disarm you, empty prisons, lock you in your homes and “invite MS-13 to live next door”.
Aside from the speech appearing to be highly unnatural and filled with great exaggerations — all of the speeches followed this same pattern that ends with Trump has the only option and the US will implode under Biden and Harris.
It all sounds strikingly familiar to a certain regime that has a cult of personality where criticisms isn’t possible and young people are indoctrinated through psychological manipulation.
That’s not say many Trump supporters aren’t well-educated and/or cannot think for themselves — it’s just that Trump has made it harder for people to actually confront his lies especially when they have an enemy in democrats and liberals.
The COVID-19 epidemic has left millions of Americans unemployed; many have reduced work hours; schools are closed with distant learning proving to be a tough adjustments on everyone involved; and it has caused damages to our economy that will be felt for years to come.
And while the economy struggles, Trump was recently spotted playing golf which he defends and claims is his exercise.
Trump has joked about running for more than two terms after feeling he was wrongly spied on and impeached.
And honestly, that doesn’t sound far-fetched, all things considered.
