In the waning days of the 2024 election race, which remains virtually tied between the two candidates, we are faced with a crucial choice: democracy or autocracy? Looking at recent events, it is clear Republican nominee Donald Trump represents the option of authoritarianism.
Former president Trump has long been associated with dictators from foreign countries, notably Russian president Vladimir Putin, who unlawfully invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has turned Russia into an authoritarian state. During his presidency, Trump repeatedly praised Putin and congratulated him on winning an election in 2018 that most observers described as illegitimate. Now, new details have arisen regarding their controversial relationship. In legendary reporter Bob Woodward’s new book War, he reveals that, during the pandemic, Trump sent COVID testing machines to Putin when such machines were in short supply in the U.S. Furthermore, according to Woodward, Trump has continued to make regular calls to Putin as a private citizen after losing the 2020 election.
In addition, Trump also has a concerning relationship with Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary, who has created what he terms “illiberal democracy” in that country, eliminating freedom of the press and backsliding towards autocracy. In Trump’s 2024 debate with Kamala Harris, he declared that Orban, who has endorsed Trump’s candidacy, was “one of the most respected men” and a “tough person,” according to NPR. The embrace of authoritarian leaders underscores that Trump likes the power they have to control their countries and block out dissenting voices. In praising them, he seethes at an America where he can’t always get his way.
The events of Jan. 6 laid bare this tendency to fume at losses. Because of his defeat in 2020, Trump made a final attempt to overturn the results and encouraged the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War. Then, Trump’s vice president Mike Pence defied him and certified the election for Joe Biden. Now, in Trump’s reelection campaign, there is nobody left to constrain him, by his own design—and his autocratic rhetoric is becoming clearer.
In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Trump claimed America was dealing with an “enemy from within,” namely “radical left lunatics…like Adam Schiff,” referring to the Democratic congressman from California who led the prosecution of Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2019. He went on to say these “lunatics” should be handled by either the National Guard or the military. This follows previous comments by Trump that those who investigated him after Jan. 6 “should go to jail” and describing himself as his supporters’ “retribution.” The line of thinking from these pronouncements is not hard to follow. Trump wants to silence and repress those who prevented him from holding onto power or disagree with him.
This process is already complete in the Republican Party. Of the 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump for his actions on Jan. 6, just two won reelection in 2022, thanks to the former president’s endorsements of their primary opponents. In purging who Trump calls “RINOs”, Republicans in Name Only, he has fully remade the party in his image. Republican politicians who once criticized him have been forced to bend the knee; for his running mate in 2024, Trump selected Ohio senator JD Vance, who previously referred to Trump in 2016 as “America’s Hitler.” Vance, in order to stay in Trump’s good graces, has defended him in the face of facts. During the vice presidential candidate debate between Vance and Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ pick for VP, Vance refused to say that Trump lost the 2020 election. He didn’t acknowledge the evidence because he couldn’t without breaking his fealty to the former president. Through Vance, Trump has found a reliable surrogate who will do whatever he asks, unlike Pence.
Similarly, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, seen as a relatively moderate member of the GOP, was asked in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper about Trump’s “enemy within” comments previously discussed. Youngkin sputtered and tried to turn the conversation to immigration, later saying he believed Tapper was “misrepresenting [Trump’s] thoughts.” Like Vance, Youngkin couldn’t denounce Trump’s comments because he needs to stay popular with Trump and his supporters.
This brings to mind a famous quote from George Orwell’s 1984, one that has been applied to various autocratic regimes: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Trump needs people like Youngkin and Vance to provide an air of legitimacy around his authoritarian agenda.
We should read the warning signs and proceed accordingly. In this election, choosing Trump would bring the darkness of despotism to America, putting the foundations of democracy at risk.